


Winter's Black Cat

by kirallie



Series: The Black Cat [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Belief can do a lot, Burgess kids grow up, Character Death, Dark Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Enslaved Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Evil Pitch Black (Guardians of Childhood), F/M, Hurt Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), M/M, Mind Manipulation, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Partial amnesia, Poor Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Protective Guardians of Childhood, Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, Saving Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Spirit Jamie Bennett (Guardians of Childhood), Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:54:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25085743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirallie/pseuds/kirallie
Summary: Instead of delaying Jack in his lair, Pitch decided to keep him. After all, next to Sandy he was the biggest threat to his plans. It would be much easier with Jack on his side and what better way to demoralise the Guardians further? He had always wanted a pet of his own.
Relationships: Jack Frost/Pitch Black, Jack Frost/Toothiana (Guardians of Childhood)
Series: The Black Cat [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816747
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58





	1. ch1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Don’t own Rise of the Guardians  
> I am reposting this as a more coherent story with events no chronological rather than having two very separate parts. There are some additions here and there too.

_Disclaimer: Don’t own Rise of the Guardians_

**Chapter 1**

Pitch picked up the tooth box and stared at the image on the end, it was different to the Spirit he had seen in colouring, but the face was the same. He smirked and tossed it from hand to hand. The Sandman had been dealt with and now it seemed Frost was the only real threat. Perhaps he should have sought him out years ago, offered him a place at his side before the Guardians could have. Such a lonely, isolated young Spirit wouldn’t have been too hard to draw in. The boy was powerful, incredibly so for a Spirit with no believers. They should have realised centuries ago that there was more to him, otherwise he should have faded by now. He smirked, how it would upset the Guardians to lose their newest member to him, it would be glorious.

He ran a finger over the lid of the box, seeing the diamonds light up even as a trickle of black sand slipped into the box. He pocketed it and headed deeper into his lair to ensure everything was ready for the boys arrival.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack chuckled as he closed Sophie’s window, that was one clingy kid. It had felt nice though, to feel the touch of a child rather than being walked through, pity it only worked when they were asleep. “We should get back.”

‘Jack!’ a voice laughed on the wind and he froze.

“Tha- that voice, I know that voice,” he whispered, straining to hear it again, to remember who it was, ignoring Baby Tooth as she chittered nervously.

‘Jack!’

He took off flying, looking around, landing on a roof top air vent, trying to find the caller. He had to find her.

‘Jack!’

Jack turned in the direction of the woods as if in a trance, he took off, flying for the trees as Baby Tooth struggled to keep up or gain his attention.

‘Jack?’

She sounded scared, uncertain, and it hurt to hear. She was important, he knew she was. He landed in a clearing with an old rotten bed, walking slowly towards it. He hesitated as he raised his staff to break the wood, awareness flickering, something was…

‘Jack?’

He hit the wood with his staff, breaking it, even as Baby Tooth grabbed his hood, trying to hold him back. He turned his head slightly towards her, revealing wide eyes with dilated pupils, his face relaxed, causing her to panic. “Don't worry…ssh…..there's still….time,” he mumbled. 

‘Jack?’

At her call Jack turned away from the scared fairy, brushing her aside, before dropping into the darkness below. She tried to follow but the hole was closed. Jack was gone.

He fell down the tunnel, surrounded by darkness, awareness slowly returning. He flew into an open-air chasm, noticing all the cages. He flew to them and the other tooth fairies started chittering at him. “Sshh, keep it down! 'M gonna get you out of here just as soon as-"

‘Jack?’ her voice called, and the fairies could only watch as he fell into the trance.

“-as I…can.” He floated down, hovering in the air, listening for the voice. 

“Looking for something?”

The different voice had him shaking his head and looking around, spotting Pitch. He took off after him, Pitch chuckling.

“Don't be afraid, Jack,” Pitch stood on a bridge above him. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

Jack slid onto the other end of the bridge. “Afraid? I'm not afraid of you.”

“Maybe not. But you are afraid of something.”

“You think so, huh?” he swung his staff, but Pitch was gone.

“I know so! It's the one thing I always know: people's greatest fears. Yours is that no one will ever believe in you.” His shadow overtook Jack, sending him tumbling through the bridge and into another dark corridor as Pitch laughed.

Jack landed hard and then scrambled up, trying to find the way out, fear growing. No, he had to stay calm and think.

“And worst of all, you're afraid you'll never know why - why you?” Pitch’s taunting voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.

Jack bounded off into the dark, only to find another wall, so he turned to face Pitch - frightened.

“Why were you chosen? To be like this. Well fear not, for the answer to that… is right here.” Pitch held out Jack's tooth-box. “Do you want them, Jack? Your memories.”

Jack reached slowly for the box, but pulled his hand back, so Pitch laughed as he vanished again, leaving Jack to dart off through the bird cages, the fairies within silent as they watched, all fearing for the winter Spirit.

“Everything you wanted to know - in this little box.” He laughed some more as Jack chased him. “Why did you end up like this? Unseen, unable to reach out to anyone - you want the answers so badly. You want to grab them and fly off with them, but you're afraid of what the Guardians will think. You're afraid of disappointing them. Well, let me ease your mind about one thing: they'll never accept you, not really—"

Jack groaned as he clutched his head, unable to ignore his words in his growing fear. “Stop it, stop it!” he yelled, looking around wildly.

“After all, you're not one of them.” He appeared from the shadows again, backing Jack up against his dark globe of the Earth.

“You don't know what I am!” He pointed his staff at Pitch.

“'Course I do! You're Jack Frost!” he smirked and held the box out to Jack again, running a finger over the lid, black sand swirling down into it.

‘Jack?’

Jack froze, eyes locked on the box, unable to look away. He had to…he was meant..

‘Jack?’

Everything faded away except her voice. He didn’t even realise when he let go of his staff, shadows swallowing it.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Pitch watched as Jack fell into the memory trance; wide eyes appearing almost black due to the dilated pupils, all expression fading from him, features slack. The dropped staff was transported via shadows to somewhere safe. His hand slowly lifted, reaching for the box and Pitch moved back, Jack taking a slow step forward, as if sleepwalking.

Pitch led him deeper into his lair, into a small room with a black bed in the middle. He led Jack to the bed and then pushed the complacent Spirit down onto it. He picked up the glass he had placed inside beforehand and pressed it to Jack’s lips, tipping his head back to help the liquid into his mouth. “Drink Jack, you need to drink,” he whispered and slowly Jack’s lips parted, throat working as he swallowed sluggishly.

Jack remained in the trance, staring vacantly at the box, and Pitch absently wondered what he was hearing or seeing, not that it mattered in the long run. He kept him sitting up for a few minutes to ensure he didn’t begin to vomit up the viscous liquid but eventually pushed him down until he was lying on the bed. Pitch held the box over his head and dusted it with more Nightmare sand, letting some fall onto Jack, watching as his eyes slowly closed, the sand putting him to sleep. He let go of the box and it remained floating above Jack’s now sleeping form.

“Pleasant Nightmares.” He left and sealed the room, smirking as he felt the fear begin to radiate from within as the memories Jack had longed for began twisting into horrors.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“Baby Tooth!” Tooth called in relief as the little fairy flew towards her, catching her gently. She listened, horrified, as Baby Tooth explained what had happened.

“Tooth?” North asked.

“Pitch has Jack…and his tooth box.”

“So what?” Aster snapped, still shocked from the children walking through him.

“Jack has amnesia! As soon as Pitch activated the box, Jack would be unable to do anything but try to get to it. He won’t give Jack back his memories out of the goodness of his heart.”

“Would the Nightmare sand be able to corrupt them, like dreams?” North asked in concern.

“I…I don’t know. Even if it can’t, he can still do a lot of damage. If he locked Jack up with it activated nearby…theoretically he could drive him insane trying to get to it. Jack would have no mental defences at all and Pitch…”

“Is a master manipulator,” Aster finished, horrified. He’d been so quick to assume the worst, but Frostbite hadn’t meant to abandon them. While he’d been blaming Jack the boy had been captured, he could have been killed because they let him go alone with only Baby Tooth as backup. Who knew what Pitch was doing to Jack at that moment. “We have ta save him.” The kid didn’t deserve what Pitch could and would do to him, no one did.

,,,,,,,,,,,

Easter had been destroyed and by now those blasted Guardians would be losing power quickly. His Nightmares were out there, ensuring no child had a good dream. He went to Jack’s room to see how he was doing, finding his sleeping face locked in an expression of terror, eyes flickering madly behind closed lids, unable to wake. Streaks of black were already spreading through his hair and his skin was taking on a sickly tone, hands flexing aimlessly, muscles twitching.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack wanted to scream, to wake up, anything. These couldn’t be his memories…could they? He’d died! His cruel little sister had pushed him under the ice. His parents had beaten and belittled him, the townsfolk… other Spirits…no one wanted Jack Frost…

He was worthless…he…he hated them…he hated everything… he didn’t want this! He… he wanted…he wanted to forget…it was better if he didn’t exist…

He felt something, black and cold, moving in his mind and he didn’t try to fight it. It didn’t matter…nothing mattered. As the cold black began consuming his memories all Jack felt was relief at the idea of no longer existing.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

They regrouped at the Pole, unsure what to do. Baby Tooth had taken them to the now sealed entrance but nothing they had tried would reopen it. They continued to lose strength as Pitch’s grew, the lights on the Globe going out in bunches. They could try collecting the teeth again, but it was a stopgap action and likely wouldn’t last until Christmas which would be their next big chance.

“Could try Christmas in July,” North pondered, it would be small, but it was much closer than the actual Christmas.

“Jack doesn’t have that long,” Tooth pointed out.

“What can we do for him when we’re fading? We’ve got no way into Pitch’s lair and even if we did, we can’t fight him like this,” Aster hated having to say it, but someone had to point out the truth.

“No! we will not give up hope! We will save Jack. Is but a boy, we can’t leave him to Pitch,” North announced.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Pitch smirked as the outward physical transformation finished. Once white hair was now as black as night, snow white skin had become a sickly grey, and then dull grey eyes slowly opened, locking onto him. “Welcome home Jack,” Pitch greeted his newest creation, curious to see what his newest formula would have made him.

Jack sat up slowly, looking around, before back at Pitch. “What are your orders, Master?” his voice was as dull as his eyes, nothing like before.

Pitch smirked, reaching out to run his fingers through black hair, feeling Jack press into his touch, practically purring. He pulled the boy to his feet by his hair, but he showed no sign of pain at the action. “Will you do anything I ask?”

“Yes Master,” Jack immediately responded.

“Even kill the Guardians?”

“Anything Master commands must be done,” Jack answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Do you know who the Guardians are pet?”

He watched Jack’s eyes but there wasn’t even a hint of recognition. “No Master.”

“Do you remember anything other than this room?” he was curious as to just what this new Jack remembered.

“No Master,” he answered and then blinked slowly. “Is that wrong?”

“No, it is as it should be. After all, you have only now awoken for the first time. Sometimes the Nightmare sand traps memories though and it may have transferred them to you.”

So far, Jack seemed different to any other creature he had created or corrupted. Human level intelligence but without any memory of the Spirit he had been. It would be interesting to see what powers he had retained and gained. Dull grey eyes were slowly gaining life and emotion too, one he had never seen aimed at himself…adoration. He hadn’t expected the total amnesia, but it would ensure he wouldn’t attempt to turn on him for the Guardians.

He loosened his hold, going back to stroking his hair, scratching his scalp and Jack whined, pressing into his touch. It had been centuries or more since he had indulged in the pleasures of the flesh or even desired to do so but with the lithe body before him and eyes full of utter devotion…well, there was no need to rush the Guardians end. He tipped Jack’s head back and then leant down, kissing him hard, plundering the cool mouth and Jack made the most delightful noises, utterly pliant, submissive. He pressed the younger Spirit back down onto the bed and Jack moaned even as Pitch ripped the clothing from his body, he needed something more fitting to his new existence anyway.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He writhed under Master’s touch, mind blank, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of new sensations. He was only minutes old after all. Sounds spilled from his lips without his control, sounding more animalistic than human, driven by instinct, urging Master on, needing to please him. His vocal chords shifted, altering, to enable him to make the sounds, altering his body further to please his Master.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Pitch looked at the ravaged body beneath him. Bite marks littered cold grey skin, dark purple bruises already forming in the skin over slender hips, dark grey lips swollen from bruising kisses, and still Jack whimpered and moaned needily, body hard with arousal. Pitch was pleasantly surprised to find that after the first thrust Jack’s body seemed to shift around him, resistance to the intrusion fading, body welcoming him instead. The body of a Spirit was far more malleable than one of true flesh and blood and it seemed the concoction of liquid Nightmare sand as well as several other substances he had created and collected over the centuries had made Jack’s even more so.

He chuckled darkly and Jack moaned in response, eyes rolling in his head as he panted for air. He began caressing small ears, running his fingers up into points, and sure enough skin and cartilage began to shift, stretching until his ears ended in delicate peaks. He doubted such a high level of malleability would last long; it would drain too much power. He began stroking strong yet delicate fingers, pressing on the fingernails with a clear picture in mind, seeing them begin to lengthen and harden into short yet lethal black claws. Jack was a Nightmare creature now after all and he should at least partially look the part. Focusing on the work past the pleasure building in his body was annoying but he needed to do it before Jack was locked into a permanent form.

He kissed him again, running his tongue around Jack’s upper canines and they began to lengthen into sharp fangs even as Jack purred in pleasure at the sensation. One last thing, he pressed a hand to the base of Jack’s spine, rubbing the bone through thin skin, Jack arching his back in response. If he was going to purr like some sort of feline then he should look the part in some way. Soon a long, slender, non-prehensile tail curled around his writ, the short, soft, fur covering it as black as the hair on Jack’s head.

Pleased with Jack’s new look he gave himself over to pleasure, biting hard at Jack’s shoulder, Jack yowling, head thrown back, cold fluid spreading between them.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He snarled, baring his fangs as the Nightmare rose up on its hind legs, hooves flashing. He ducked easily, raking claws down its flank, angering it. There was no thought in his head, the fight driven solely by instinct – to survive, win, and please his Master. He leapt up on its back, claws sinking deep into a body made of black sand before his fangs were in its throat, the horse bucking, trying to throw him off before it dissolved. He landed on all fours, tail lashing the air as he searched for any other threats, growling and snarling low in his throat.

He relaxed as his Master moved up behind him, hands at his throat so he tipped his head back to give better access. He felt something resting against the skin, tight, but not enough to make it hard to breath, a little heavy too but nothing annoying. A finger slipped under it, pulling his head back further and he whined, shifting to keep his balance as he was tugged up to stand on the balls of his feet.

“Every pet needs a collar,” Master murmured, a hand moving up to stroke a pointed ear and Jack began purring, unable to understand the words but responding to his tone and actions. Master chuckled and then let go, Jack stumbling slightly. Then Master’s hands were on his hips, caressing the skin, and he slumped back against him, Master’s robes coarse against his skin but he didn’t care, rubbing his body against him, earning another chuckle. “You are far too tempting in just a collar and it wouldn’t do for others to see what is mine.” As his hands ran over Jack’s hips and lower, shadows slid over the skin, solidifying into a pair of tight black pants. “Better.”

Jack said nothing, just purring and arching his body into his Master, animal instinct still very much in control.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

It wasn’t working, they spent every second they could collecting teeth and leaving gifts and while it had slowed the decline some, they weren’t regaining any believers. With only the three of them, they couldn’t cover a large enough area every night, especially when they also had to fight off Pitch’s Nightmares. There had been no sign of Pitch himself or Jack and they weren’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. It did give them some hope that Jack was fighting him somehow.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Pitch watched Jack explore the lair, often on all fours, with all the curiosity of a cat. His training was progressing well, with never a hint of his old memories or personality appearing. He’d always heard cats were hard to train but not Jack, he was very eager. He was very easily overtaken by the animalistic mindset, but he thought that would change with time as more memories were made and knowledge gained, he was barely four days old after all. He was very tempting, and he knew it but he didn’t really mind, he was enjoying using him however he pleased. The Globe continued to show fading lights so there was no rush to act further just yet.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth collapsed on the couch, accepting a mug of hot cocoa without a word for the sugar content, they all needed the pick me up. The Workshop was even busier than normal, trying to get things ready for an attempt at Christmas in July for the Southern Hemisphere to perk up their power levels but she didn’t think they’d make it that long.

It had been hard enough collecting the teeth when there had been five of them but now there were only three of them. Bunny was losing power at an almost visible rate and it didn’t make sense. One ruined Easter should not have destroyed the belief in him as much as it had.

She couldn’t help it as her mind strayed to their missing and youngest member, Jack was one of them, Oath or no Oath. Pitch had had him for almost two weeks now, even if they found him, would anything of the Jack they’d been coming to know be left? Would he be insane…or worse? Death would be kinder than Pitch’s normal use for captured enemies. Though all they had seen was Nightmares, did he no longer have the ability to create anything else?

Baby Tooth was taking his capture very hard, blaming herself. But what could she have done? She was far too small to have restrained Jack and he’d been barely aware of her at all at the time. She was just glad she had escaped and not been taken as well.

She’d never thought they would be facing something like this, fighting Pitch was one thing but this wasn’t really a fight. He’d struck in ways they’d never seen coming and now they were fading away. They needed help or something. She glanced at the window, but Manny remained silent.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Pitch smirked, watching as Jack tore a Nightmare apart with claws and ice, snarling savagely as he did. He truly was a perfect creation and Pitch motioned for Jack to come to him when the boy looked at him. He moved with the easy grace of a hunting cat, balanced easily on the balls of his feet, tail in the air. He dropped to his knees beside the chair Pitch was lounging in, laying his head on his knee and Pitch began scratching at his scalp, Jack soon purring away.

He was a much more enjoyable pet than the Nightmare horses, perhaps he should find other Spirits to transform as well. It would be harder without the advantage of their childhood teeth and memories but as the world became darker his power continued to grow. The idea of corrupting every spirit that existed into his own servants and pets was appealing, it would remove all chance of resistance as well.

Jack had kept his powers over the cold and ice, though there was nothing ‘fun’ about them anymore. It seemed his flight abilities were tied to the staff which he hadn’t given back to him, unsure what kind of influence the staff could exert over him. Cold and dark went together very well, and Jack had an instinctive fighting ability that was impressive.

He glanced at the globe and smirked. “See those lights pet?”

“Yes Master,” Jack purred, rubbing his cheek against his leg.

“Each one of those is a child who believes in the Guardians,” he explained.

“They’re going out,” Jack murmured, nuzzling him.

Such an affectionate little thing. He was more than a mere Nightmare creature, learning and growing quickly, a personality taking form. He would take him out tomorrow night and see what kind of Nightmares he would give the children. While in some ways his appearance was almost ‘cute’ or ‘harmless’, that would make him all the more terrifying. Fear sometimes wore the face of an angel. He was ruthless in a fight, savage, but he was also mindlessly loyal to Pitch, as close to loving him as was possible for Jack now.

“Soon they’ll all be out, and the world will be Pitch Black,” he chuckled at his own joke and then stood. “Come Jack, time to rest, we have a busy night tomorrow.” He slipped a finger into the black collar around Jack’s throat, pulling him to his feet. He had really chosen the boys new wardrobe well, the minimal coverage showing off his wonderful body. He’d gained some muscle definition during his transformation but still retained the long limbs and slender body of a late teen who had obviously still been growing.

Once in the chamber Pitch slept in, Jack stripped off his pants and set them aside, swinging his hips as he walked towards the large bed, tail in the air and swaying provocatively, earning a chuckle from Pitch. Jack crawled onto the bed and then stretched, careful not to rip the sheets with his claws, showing off his body, remaining on all fours as he waited to be told what to do. Oh, why not indulge? Pitch stripped and joined him on the bed and Jack dropped his upper body down, purring. He ran his hands over smooth, cold skin, pressing himself against the back of Jack’s thighs and Jack whined, wriggling slightly.

“Stay still,” he ordered, and Jack immediately stilled. “Good pet.” He raked his own nails down Jack’s back, and he hissed in pleasure, muscles trembling in a want to move, to press into his scratching, but Jack could not even consider disobeying his Master. Yes, Jack was a far more interesting creature than any other he had made.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He looked around in awe and a little fear, everything was so…big. He moved even closer to Master, hearing him chuckle. Fingers slipped under his collar, leading him, and he relaxed at the familiar motion. There was something big and bright in the sky and he hissed at it, Master laughing.

“Yes pet, that is something very bad. You must stay out of its light, understand?”

“Yes Master.” He didn’t like ‘light’, avoiding even the small circles of it on the ground, watching in awe as Master lifted his hand and there was a breaking noise, the little lights going away. That was much better!

They entered something but it wasn’t like home, moving up and Master opened a door, leading him in and over to something like what they slept in. “You know what to do Jack,” Master told him, removing his fingers from his collar and Jack moved closer.

He stared at the sleeping child, head tilted to one side, sniffing the air. Master’s fingers ran through his hair and he purred. He knew what Master wanted; he was unsure how to do it though. Eventually, he reached out, running claws across the child’s forehead, not hard enough to cut. A tiny trail of black frost formed, sinking in, and the child whimpered fearfully. Jack inhaled, able to smell it, leaning closer to take in the scent of fear.

“Good job pet,” Master praised, and he smiled, happy to have pleased him.

They left the room, moving on to the next child, and with every victim Jack got better and quicker at twisting dreams into nightmares, the scent of fear was intoxicating.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Watching Jack bring nightmares to children was the icing on the cake. There was no hesitation, nothing, he was eager to work it out, obviously enjoying the scent of fear. What a pity he hadn’t paid any real attention to him before, he could have taken him centuries ago. He could have had a willing Jack on his side if he had found him then, when he was lost and all alone. Then again, he liked Jack this way, utterly obedient and so eager to please.

The Guardians would soon be nothing more than a distant memory and the world would be his, a second Dark Age. A world of darkness and fear and he was looking forward to it so much.

Once done for the night, he took him home and right to bed, Jack acting as if he were almost drunk off the fear he had caused, needy noises coming from him as he rubbed himself against Pitch. With that kind of reaction, he would never need to worry about him baulking at doing what he had been made to.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aimee Bennett was worried about her children, actually she was worried about all the kids. Every parent she knew was worried. Every night the kids had nightmares and it was affecting them badly during the day. She knew some had been admitted to the hospital for treatment of their growing terror. Something was very wrong, the nights felt…darker, colder, and she couldn’t explain why. It was like all the joy had been sucked out of the world.

She was just grateful that for now at least, her two were the least affected in town. That was her Jamie, ever the stubborn optimist and believer in the absurd. Sophie clung to her brother, trying to copy him. Aimee did everything she could to try and keep their spirits up.

It wasn’t just here, whatever was happening was worldwide. The WHO was testing kids all over, trying to see if it was some sort of virus that was causing the fear and depression. It seemed everyone was weighing in with theories, but no one had any idea how to stop it.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster gasped, leaning against the table, able to feel his magic draining away. It shouldn’t be happening so fast! He needed to conserve what he had so he reached for what he had left, shifting his shape, shrinking down.

“Bunny!” North called in alarm and then he was being scooped up and carried to the couch as he continued to shrink.

He vaguely heard Tooth gasp in shock and then something soft was settled over him as darkness claimed him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

North and Tooth sat on the couch, watching Aster sleep. He was so small! She could barely hover let alone fly; they could no longer collect teeth so the belief in her was fading faster every day. How much longer did they have? North was the least affected since Christmas had only just passed and with months before the next season. Still, even his powers were draining since those who lost belief in one or two Guardians had little reason to believe in the other ones. Pitch had known what he was doing by targeting Sandy first, without happy dreams the children were being haunted by nightmares every night, which made believing even harder.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack ripped into the meat with sharp fangs, claws ripping the body apart hungrily to get to the soft innards, blood smearing across his lips and chin as he ate. He didn’t know what it was, didn’t care, it tasted good and he was hungry, that was all that mattered. He dropped the mess of bones and fur to the ground when he’d eaten everything of it he could and then returned to his Master’s side.

“Tasty?”

“Yes Master, thank you,” he purred, rubbing against his leg.

A bowl of water was pushed towards him.

“Clean the blood off,” Master ordered, and he washed his hands and face clean.

He lapped at the water with his tongue after, drinking the blood tainted liquid.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Pitch watched Jack eat the raw rabbit and then lap up the bloody water, smirking at the sight. He’d heard of the animosity between the boy and a certain Easter Bunny, so it was amusing to see him rip real rabbits apart to feed on. Perhaps he would let him hunt the Guardian as a meal one day. He’d have to ensure the others watched if he did.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

North held Bunny’s much smaller form in his arms as they stared at the globe, they had done all they could but there were just too many Nightmares out there.

“Look!” Tooth pointed at a section of America….where a lone light still shone, it flickered, but it was still there.

“The Last Light,” North breathed in wonder and sadness.

“We have to get to them, protect them,” Bunny demanded, and they nodded. If it was the last thing they did, they would protect the child.

“To the Sleigh!” hopefully his magic would last the trip.

,,,,,,,,,,

He watched as the lights on the globe went out, knowing it made his Master happy, even if he didn’t really understand.

“Six!” Master called cheerfully as he covered the lights, when he moved on that one was dark. “Five…four….three….two…..one!” he stopped and they both stared. “One!” the light remained strong. “I think we’ve found your first prey Jack.”

He sat up at that, licking his lips in anticipation of the hunt. He’d never gotten to hunt before, it was exciting! The black horse things were fights not hunts, and the food was too easy to count.

They moved through the shadows, the Nightmares ignoring them or checking to see if they were needed. They reached a house just in time to see something take to the sky and fly away. Master snarled and Jack flinched down slightly at his anger but then a hand was in his hair, soothing him.

“So, North still has a little magic. No matter, there’s only one place they’ll take the child.”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

They recognised the house immediately as the Sleigh approached, North landing in the street. Who did the light belong to, Sophie or her brother? What had Jack called him…Jamie? North carried him as they headed inside, maybe it would have been smarter for him to stay at the Pole, he would be nothing more than a liability in a fight as he was. But every time they split up something went very wrong. They entered the house and moved upstairs, hearing a voice from the boys room.

“Okay, look, you and I are obviously at what they call a crossroads. So, here's what's gonna happen: if- if it wasn't a dream, and if you are real, then you have to prove it. Like, right now.” A glance inside showed Jamie sitting on his bed with a well-loved stuffed rabbit in front of him and Aster swallowed. “I believed in you for a long time, okay? Like, my whole life in fact. So you kind of owe me now. You don't have to do much - just a little sign so I know. Anything. Anything at all,” the boy begged, and he leapt from North’s arms, hopping across the room and up onto the bed.

He pushed the rabbit and it moved, the kids eyes widening slightly. Aster’s smaller paws weren’t so good at grabbing things, but he pulled the bunny across the bed, Jamie watching in awe.

“He is real!” the kid grinned and then his eyes went really wide and Aster froze as he realised the kid was looking at him. “Easter Bunny? What happened to you? You used to be huge, and cool, and now you’re... cute.”

That got a giggle from Tooth and Jamie looked towards his door.

“The Tooth Fairy….Santa! You came back. I knew it wasn’t a dream!” Jamie bounced on his bed in excitement.

“Hello Jamie,” Tooth greeted, moving to sit on the bed beside the excited boy.

He looked between them, excitement fading. “What’s wrong?”

“Long story, a bad man is coming for you Jamie. We need to take you to safety,” North offered.

“Me? but why?” Surprisingly he got off the bed even as he was asking, grabbing socks, shoes, and a coat.

“We will explain on the way. To the Sleigh!” North smirked as Jamie’s eyes lit up at that. Everyone loved the Sleigh.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jamie stared around in awe; it was almost impossible to believe but he was in Santa’s Workshop! It was huge! He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but the Tooth Fairy had told him he was in danger from the Boogeyman, that he was why everyone had nightmares now and there’d been no Easter. That was why the Easter Bunny was now a tiny rabbit.

“Still no sign of Jack?” Santa asked a Yeti who answered something Jamie couldn’t understand.

“Who’s Jack?” he asked Bunny since he was carrying him. Part of him wanted to shout and dance, he’d been right, bigfoot was real! Well, Yeti anyway but they were the same thing really, or close enough. He was definitely old enough to know that now wasn’t the time, now was when they had to be serious.

“Jack Frost, the newest Guardian. Pitch captured him to keep him from helping us save Easter. Kids powerful, we were hopin’ he’d escape and make it back here,”  
Bunny explained as they stopped in front of a massive globe.

“Oh…” So Pitch had somehow killed the Sandman and kidnapped Jack Frost who was also real. He thought about the crazy sleigh ride….how the ice had changed direction whenever he was in danger, had that been Jack?

Tooth looked over at him and smiled slightly. “He’s why you lost your tooth.”

“That was really him?” he asked, and she nodded, telling him everything she knew of that Jack had done recently, including bringing his sister home safely. Of course Sophie had managed to accidentally end up in the Warren and scare all the eggs. “Wow, I hope I get to meet him.”

“You have to believe in him to see him,” she explained, and he nodded.

Jack Frost was real, he believed in him, just like he believed in everyone here.

“I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see you all like this!” a sinister voice called and then a shadow spread over the darkened Globe, revealing a tall man in black. “You look awful.”

Jamie hugged Bunny closer, scared. North and Tooth pressed closer protectively as the Yeti moved in as well. Wait…was than an elf with a water pistol?

“What have you done with Jack?!” Tooth yelled angrily and Pitch laughed.

“Do you really want to know?” he smirked scarily, and Bunny wriggled free, standing in front of Jamie even if the kid wasn’t sure what he could do. “Come on out pet. The Guardians wish to see you Jack.”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster tensed, that did not sound good at all. A figure emerged from the shadows and it took several seconds to recognise him. His skin and hair was the same colour as Pitch’s now but those weren’t the only changes. The most obvious was the long, cat-like tail and the rather big change in wardrobe. “Jack?” he gasped and grey eyes focused on him, Jack cocking his head to the side curiously. “What have you done to him?” he demanded, there was no recognition at all as Jack stared at them.

It wasn’t the first time he’d faced someone he’d once known who had been changed and twisted by Pitch. It had been a favoured tactic once after all, turning various beings into twisted versions of themselves. He had changed many children into Fearlings long before they had all come to Earth. Aster had fought many of them over the centuries and what he was seeing…was not one of them. He had done something to Jack that he’d never seen before. Did that mean, there might be a chance of freeing him?

Pitch held his hand out and Jack stalked over to his side, dropping into a crouch as Pitch petted his hair. “Don’t you like my pet?” he asked them mockingly as Jack rubbed against his leg, acting like an animal. “Do you see the boy Jack?”

“Yes Master,” he purred in response.

Hearing Jack call Pitch, Master…Jack who answered to no one, who did what he wanted… was there anything left of the Winter Spirit in this creature? He could still speak, still knew his name but did that mean anything?

“He’s your prey, have fun,” Pitch laughed as the Nightmares attacked. The last he saw of Jack was the boy leaping down towards Jamie, but he was too busy dodging crazy horses to help.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack purred and nuzzled at his Master in happiness, at last he was getting to hunt. He moved away, crouching on all fours as he stared at the boy. He licked his lips and smiled, flashing fangs, sensing the fear from the prey. He would be very tasty. The Nightmares attacked, forcing the ones Master called Guardians away and Jack leapt from the globe, landing in a crouch on the same level as the prey, hissing at him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jamie’s eyes went wide as Jack hissed at him. He was acting like an animal! This…this couldn’t be the same Jack they had talked about, the one that had kept him safe on the sled, who had helped Tooth collect teeth and looked after his sister. “J…Jack please…” he pleaded but the Spirit just grinned, showing off sharp fangs and Jamie noticed the claws on his hands.

He turned and ran, Tooth said Nightmares liked shadows and dark, so he needed lots of light. Was that what Jack was now? He didn’t dare look back. He’d seen enough wildlife shows to know better, looking would slow him down., he zigged and zagged to make himself a harder target. He needed somewhere to hide or something!

Jamie screamed as something slammed into him, taking them both over the edge to fall several levels down, rolling under a mess of equipment and he found himself staring into grey eyes that showed no recognition. “Jack please… don’t do this! You’re Jack Frost and I believe in you!” he shouted as Jack leant in, sharp teeth grazing his throat and he shoved his hands hard into a cold chest. “JACK!”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“Jamie!” Tooth yelled as she saw Jack slam into the boy, sending them over the ledge. She rushed over and looked down but couldn’t see them. Pitch laughed, calling of the Nightmares for now, and then they heard a faint scream from below.

_“JACK!”_

“No…” she sobbed, pressing her hands to her mouth, not Jamie.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“Jack please… don’t do this! You’re Jack Frost and I believe in you!” the prey shouted as Jack leant in, teeth grazing his throat to draw out the fear and then warm hands shoved against his chest “JACK!”

He froze as the boy almost glowed with light and then he was screaming, falling away from the prey, writhing in pain.

“Jack?” the boy called. “Jack Frost, please.”

Jack Frost…who was…was he? He slowly opened his eyes, staring at the prey…the boy…. “J..J…a…mie?”

Brown eyes lit up with hope and the boy nodded. “Jack please, don’t let him make you a monster.”

He hurt, he was so tired, but…Jamie…he could see him…he lifted a heavy arm towards the boy and then froze as he saw his hand…claws...his skin…what was happening? He gasped as a warm hand slipped into his, carefully avoiding the claws. Then the boy was wrapping himself around Jack…hugging him. Jack shuddered, gasping, it hurt…but he didn’t want it to stop.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He watched as Jack writhed, scared, but then he fell still, and Jamie hesitated. “Jack?” he called softly. “Jack Frost, please.”

Slowly Jack’s head turned towards him and then his eyes fluttered open…eyes the bright blue some ice looked in pictures. Jack stared at him and he looked really out of it. “J..J…a…mie?”

He nodded; Jack recognised him! Somehow, he was fighting whatever Pitch had done to him. “Jack please, don’t let him make you a monster,” he begged.

Jamie watched as Jack lifted his arm towards him, refusing to show fear at the sight of sharp claws, Jack was moving like his Grandpa did in the cold and that probably wasn’t good. He saw Jack’s eyes go wide as he saw his own claws, so Jamie assumed they were something Pitch had done. He reached out slowly, carefully taking Jack’s hand, ignoring the cold, Jack gasping. He wriggled closer in the tight space, curling around Jack as best he could, hugging him. He heard Jack whimper in pain, but ever so slowly cold arms wrapped around him in return as Jack shook.

“I believe in you, Jack Frost,” he whispered over and over, trying to help him fight. He looked down as something furry wrapped around his arm, it was Jack’s tail…like Pippa’s cat. He didn’t think a Spirit like Jack would be so animal like which meant Pitch had really hurt him.

“Jamie,” Jack whispered, freeing a hand to gently pet his head. “I know you.”

“You made my sled fly!” Jamie lifted his head to grin at Jack who slowly smiled back, though it was a little one.

“I don’t…I can’t…” he pressed a hand to his head. “What’s happen’?”

“Pitch took you, he hurt you. He wanted you to hurt me, but you didn’t! You’re too strong for him!” If he believed it and could get Jack to believe it then maybe it’d be true.

“Mas…” Jack shook his head. “Pitch?” he looked around, head tilting as he listened to something Jamie couldn’t hear.

“Please Jack, the Guardians need you. You have to beat Pitch.” He stared Jack in the eye, he knew he was confused and in pain, but Jack had to fight or Pitch’d win.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“I wonder what stories you filled the boys head with? Do you think they’ll be a comfort in his last moments?” He taunted them as he walked across the globe, his Nightmares had them nicely cornered.

“Jack would never hurt him!” Bunny denied and Pitch laughed.

“Jack Frost wouldn’t, but my Nightmare Jack? He’s more beast than human now, completely obedient and loyal.” He smirked, leaning in as if sharing a secret. “And very enthusiastic in the bedroom.”

They did blanch so wonderfully, especially Tooth. Maybe he’d set the boy on her next, she was rather bird like, and cats loved hunting birds. He’d already seen Jack eyeing the blasted rabbit before he’d set him on the boy. He was still laughing when a body slammed into him, sending them both flying out of the Workshop…and over the cliff.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack stared at Jamie; he was so confused. Everything hurt, he felt strange, but Pitch…he…he killed…he killed Sandy! Sandy…the only Spirit who had been nice to him, waving and smiling when they’d pass each other at night, who would clap when Jack ran his fingers through golden sand, forming dolphins. He shook his head, forcing himself to focus. He shifted around and then crawled out from under whatever they were hidden under. He saw Jamie following and held a clawed hand out, trying not to flinch from the sight. What had happened to him?

“Stay,” he told the boy. “Safer here.”

Jamie frowned but then nodded, slipping further under and out of sight and Jack nodded, looking up. Where was his staff? He couldn’t call the wind…he crouched and then leapt up, grabbing on to things, working his way up silently. He could hear voices above, familiar….

“I wonder what stories you filled the boys head with? Do you think they’ll be a comfort in his last moments?”

He knew that voice, it called to him, made him want to…no! That….that was him….Pitch….Master…

“Jack would never hurt him!”

That voice was familiar too but different as well. Whoever it was sounded so sure…believed in him! Who was it? What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he focus, remember? He snarled softly, climbing ever higher, until he was looking down at them all. He saw…Pitch…on the globe and below….he knew them…he did! They were important…Jamie had said they needed him…the Guardians needed him! Because he was Jack Frost, he was…

“Jack Frost wouldn’t, but my Nightmare Jack? He’s more beast than human now, completely obedient and loyal.” There was a pause and then he spoke again, as if telling a secret. “And very enthusiastic in the bedroom.” 

He saw the looks of horror on their faces, the anger, and he knew what Mas…Pitch had said was bad. No, he wouldn’t hurt Jamie! He wouldn’t hurt them! He focused on the laughing Spirit, lips drawing back as he snarled and then he leapt, slamming into him at full speed, hearing glass shatter as they hurtled through it, felt them become weightless. He met Pitch’s eyes, saw the look of shock and horror, even as he buried sharp claws into his chest before ripping free. They were falling….Jack looked down, unable to see the ground.

No! He couldn’t…he had to protect them. He tried to reach for the Wind, but nothing happened, body twisting around in the air, scrabbling for any purchase and then he slammed into something and everything went black.

_TBC…_


	2. ch2

_Disclaimer: not mine_

**Chapter 2**

North stared at the shattered window in shock and then watched the Nightmares begin to scatter. He moved to the edge where Jamie and Jack had gone over earlier and looked down. “Jamie!!” he shouted, praying….

“Here!” the child called back, wriggling out from under some old equipment. He was covered in dust, but alive.

“Stay, Yeti will come for you,” he told him, not wanting him to try to climb up himself.

Phil was already rushing down to collect him.

“What happened?” Bunny demanded.

Tooth moved to the window, looking out but there was nothing to see. Phil returned with Jamie who was a little bruised but unharmed.

“Where’s Jack?” the boy asked, looking around.

“What do ya mean?” Bunny asked.

“He told me to stay hidden and then he left,” Jamie explained as if it was obvious, but his words shocked them all.

“He told you?” North asked, and Jamie nodded.

“He remembered me! It was really scary, he was going to bite me, but I told him he was Jack Frost and I believed in him. He was in a lot of pain but when it stopped he knew who I was, and his eyes were blue, not grey!”

The three Guardians exchanged a look. Jamie’s belief in Jack was powerful enough to override Pitch’s control? North glanced back at the window…Jack, it had been Jack to tackle Pitch, to sacrifice himself to stop their enemy. Such a fall would be deadly even to a Spirit, unless he had called the Wind to save him? But…Jack hadn’t had his staff and he’d seen him fall in the battle where they lost Sandy because he had lost his grip on the staff. He seemed to need it to fly which meant he had no way to catch himself.

“Where is he?” Jamie asked and then he saw the window. “Jack?”

North rested a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “He did a very brave thing to save us all.” The boy didn’t need to know that no one had ever come back from being changed by Pitch, that whatever break in the control would have been temporary. Had Jack sensed that and chosen to die as himself rather than make them end him?

Jamie stared up at him, tears gathering, and Tooth pulled him into a hug, letting the boy cry on her.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jamie wiped the tears away, glancing back at the broken window. Jack was gone…it was his fault; he’d begged him to help the Guardians fight Pitch. Jack was…Jack was dead…just like Dad… he looked up and gasped as the Nightmares moved in again. “It’s your fault!” he yelled at them and then lunged forward.

“Jamie!” Tooth yelled but he ignored her.

Jamie slammed his hands into the Nightmare and then jolted back, eyes wide, as black sand became golden, the horse exploding into a golden stream.

“Quickly! Gather them close!” North yelled and the Yeti moved in.

They forced the panicking beasts into a corner and Jamie began touching them, everyone watching in awe as the sand became golden. Streams of golden sand flew through the air, forming shapes and then spiralling into a cocoon. It burst apart and Tooth laughed as her wings began to move, taking to the air even as North straightened up. The sand faded a bit to reveal a short golden man who smiled at them all.

“Sandy!” North cried, scooping him up to hug and spin around.

Jamie watched and then looked at the window. He could bring Sandy back and he was glad but…Jack…

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sandy was surprised to be at the Pole, with Jamie and the other Guardians. No…he looked around in confusion, where was their newest member and why was Aster tiny? He flashed up a snowflake and question mark and was shocked when Tooth tried to smother a sob, Jamie turning away, eyes red. His eyes widened as he looked to North and Aster, seeing the grief there.

“Tooth,” North motioned and she nodded, leading Jamie away.

“Jack…Jack’s dead Sandy,” Aster whispered, and Sandy shook his head. “He died to save us from Pitch, took him with him.” He tried to hop up onto the couch and North lifted him up. “Pitch captured Jack the night after we…lost you. He had Jack’s tooth box and used it to draw Jack to him. Sandy…he brought Jack here when he came but…it wasn’t Jack anymore. He didn’t recognise us, he was like an animal, Pitch called him his pet.”

“Pitch set him on Jamie, they went over the edge while we were dealing with the Nightmares,” North shook his head.

Sandy glanced back at where Tooth had led Jamie away, the Yeti plying the boy with hot chocolate. He looked dusty but unharmed. Oh Jack…but if Pitch had done that to Jack, how could he have killed him? He asked them and North looked at Jamie.

“It was Jamie, his belief in Jack broke through to him. He moved too fast; we saw nothing. One second Pitch was gloating, the next gone out the window. There is nothing but the cliff and Jack did not have his staff,” North explained. “Jamie brought you back too, he touched the nightmares and they turned to your sand.”

Sandy looked to the broken window and then floated up and looked out, seeing the incredible drop. Jack… it wasn’t fair, just when the boy was finding acceptance and companionship. He should have done more than just wave over the centuries.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster looked down at himself, relieved that after three days of having Sandy back, he was able to return to his normal size. There was a lot to do, to clean up, and it’d likely take a year or two for belief in them to return to normal. The first step they would be taking today since he was back to normal size, they were going to Pitch’s lair to retrieve the Tooth boxes there and hopefully the kidnapped fairies.

Several Yeti armed themselves and then North used a globe to take them to where Baby Tooth had lost Jack. The little fairy had been rather despondent since being told of Jack’s fate, so Tooth was keeping her close and not making her to work. With Pitch dead, the hole to his lair had reopened and they cautiously dropped into the tunnel, ready for anything. His death had not destroyed all of his Nightmares after all and they may have returned to the lair out of familiarity.

Usually, Aster preferred being underground, loved tunnels, but his first look at Pitch’s lair made him shiver, looking around with a boomerang in hand. How much of his memory had Jack regained in those last minutes? Had he died knowing only this place as his home? Where had Jack lived for all those centuries? Did he have a home, or did he just go where the Wind took him? He’d misjudged the younger Spirit so badly and now he could never apologise for that.

They entered the massive main room and saw the gleam from piles of Tooth boxes littered on the ground. There was a smaller, metallic, version of the globe in the centre of the room and above…the sound of thousands of wings filled the air as the fairies realised help had come. Tooth, Baby Tooth, and Sandy took to the air to get the cages open. He moved on, looking around, wanting to make sure there was nothing that would sneak up behind them.

He opened a door and froze at the sight of a large bed, rumpled bedding….the scent of Pitch, Jack’s altered scent, the smell of…he forced himself to move away, not wanting to see or smell any more from that room. He felt sick, trying not to think of the horrors Jack had suffered without understanding that he was suffering. He found another room and shoved the door open, he still had to check. He nearly sneezed as black sand drifted through the air. There was a small black bed in the room and nothing else. The scents in the room were older but here Jack’s real scent lingered, the scent of his terror….this…this was where Pitch had… he left the room and headed down the halls, seeing Yeti doing the same, checking for any nasty surprises.

A Yeti called out and Aster moved to see what he’d found, watching him reach into a cupboard only to come out with a familiar staff, holding it very carefully. Without the frost covering it, the staff looked…dead. Without Jack, it was just a piece of wood. He took it and returned to the others, the sight of his staff causing fresh grief.

Once sure they were safe, they began working to move the Tooth boxes back to the Tooth Palace, Sandy running sand over them all to ensure none of Pitch’s was in them. Aster said nothing about what he’d found, they didn’t need to know just what Pitch had done to Jack, it was bad enough the man had told them.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jamie watched Sophie toddle around, laughing happily. With Pitch defeated and Sandy back, all the kids were returning to normal. His friends weren’t having Nightmares anymore and that was great. He just wanted to stop seeing Jack die to save them all. He knew Sandy had been by last night, and it had been nice, but he still hurt. It was his fault.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He pulled himself across the snow, a bloody trail in his wake. There was no thought, just the need to protect. He hurt so much…had to keep going…

,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth knelt beside the empty space around the Guardian symbol. They’d had to rearrange it, to balance out five tiles rather than four. They hadn’t even needed to discuss it, Jack had died a Guardian, he had been one of them. The Yeti approached, the elves gathered around, candles burning. The fifth tile was carefully set into place, completing the design. She heard Baby Tooth crying, her sisters around her, felt her own tears slip free and then Aster was holding her hand, North’s arm over her shoulders even as Sandy took her other hand.

The elves began moving, their bells ringing for Jack like they had for Sandy so recently. Except there would be no miracle comeback for the cheerful Winter Spirit, he was gone for good.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sandy sent his sand flying through Burgess before alighting on a frozen lake. This was Jack’s lake; he could feel it. It was scary how close the entrance to Pitch’s lair was, how many close calls had Jack had without anyone ever knowing? He heard the sound of shoes crunching the last of the snow and looked, surprised to see Jamie out so late. The boy paused when he saw him but then walked to sit on a log. Sandy moved to his side, patting his hand gently. He put up a question mark and Jamie huddled in his coat.

“I…I keep dreaming about Jack,” he admitted quietly, and Sandy nodded, unsurprised. “It’s my fault.”

That had him shaking his head. He may not have been there, but he knew it was not Jamie’s fault. It was Pitch’s fault for doing what he had to Jack. It had been Jack’s choice to take him out the window, he’d been to the Workshop, he knew it was set on a cliff. To help the boy accept and begin to heal, he crafted a very special dream and before he could react the sand dusted Jamie’s face, the boy falling asleep instantly. Sandy settled him on a cloud of sand and flew him home.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Baby Tooth stared sadly out the window at the snow. Jack was gone, first made into a Nightmare and now dead. He had died to stop Pitch. It was all her fault, if she’d realised faster she could have gotten help to stop him before he entered Pitch’s lair. Jack had named her! Had looked after her! And now he was gone.

The Yeti behind her were solemn and silent as they set a new candle on the newest tile, honouring Jack in the only way they had left. The ravine was too deep to send anyone down to collect the…bodies, besides they would have faded within hours.

The Sandman was back, thanks to Jamie. Every night the lights on the Globe became brighter as he sent out his dream sand and her sisters had activated the tooth boxes to remind the children of happy memories. Now they were back to collecting the teeth and leaving gifts, further strengthening belief again. She should be with them, but she couldn’t.

She slipped out the window, seeing movement in the snow in the distance. The evening air was still and cold, but she could handle it. She flew closer and then darted back in fear. She hesitated but then approached, eyes widening as she saw all the blood…grey skin…Pitch? No…a tail… she gasped. She hadn’t seen Jack but had begged her Mother to explain what had been done to him. Jack had a tail… she flew down to him, landing on a limp outstretched hand, chirping softly but there was no movement. Then she heard it, the soft rasp of breath, he was alive! She took off back to the workshop at top speed, screaming for help.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“Baby Tooth!” she called in alarm, hearing her screaming. She flew out the window to intercept her, checking her for injuries but her little fairy just grabbed her hand and began pulling her, repeating one word over and over…Jack. “North!” she yelled to get his attention and he was soon following on foot, Bunny with him despite the cold. She looked down and saw what Baby Tooth had.

She dropped to the snow and then cautiously knelt beside the unmoving body. It was Jack, the tail gave it away, but there was so much blood…he’d been dragging himself; she followed the blood trail with her eyes, it lead back to the cliff and…was heading towards the Workshop. He’d been trying to get back to them but why? For help?

“Jack?” she called but he didn’t react. She reached out and touched his hand, he was ice cold, but he was always cold wasn’t he? She lifted his hand, trying to find his pulse…there! He was alive if barely.

Then North was there, Bunny swearing, as they took in his battered and bloody body, before North lifted him as carefully as he would a baby.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

North gently set Jack down in the infirmary, the Yeti bustling around with medical supplies. Perhaps it was insane to try and save his life, but he had saved them, saved the children, and then managed to drag himself almost all the way back to the Workshop. After all of that, he deserved a chance.

He cut the remains of the black pants off even as Bunny snapped the collar with his teeth rather than take the time to try and undo it. Lukewarm water was then used to wash away the blood and clean him up so that they could see what they were dealing with. He was a mess and North didn’t know how he was still alive. Perhaps the cold had helped? If he retained any of his Winter powers then he may have begun healing even on impact.

“Bring his staff!” he called, he had kept it in the Workshop, had kept it safe despite thinking Jack was dead. If any part of Jack Frost survived in this creature, then the staff may help. The wood was carefully placed in one broken hand, his fingers carefully wrapped around it and everyone held their breath, watching. For a minute, nothing happened, but then ever so slowly, frost patterns began to spread over the wood…but not just frost, darkness too. The frost gave him hope that the boy was still fighting.

They worked through the night and the next day but finally, all that could be done had been, now it was a waiting game. Jack was left in the infirmary, under guard, the room brightly lit and everything that could be removed had been to ensure as few shadows or weapons as possible.

The Guardians took shifts watching over him, only Baby Tooth never left his side and Tooth didn’t have the heart to make her.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jamie finished editing the story with his Mom’s help and then pressed post. She’d been surprised he’d written a story down and a little worried by the content, but Jamie had insisted. Now it was out there on the internet. He’d written down everything the Guardians had told him about Jack and how Jack had saved everyone. It was too late to give Jack believers but at least his story would be known.

He'd stopped seeing Jack die in his dreams and he knew it was because of Sandy. Instead, any dreams of Jack were of a human looking Jack playing in the snow. He hadn’t seen any of them since that night at the lake, but they obviously had a lot of work to do to fix things. They’d had talks at school, about depression, drugs and suicide. There were people to talk to but most of the kids were fine now. The Nightmares going away was enough to make them happy again, coins were being given for lost teeth again, and they were talking about what they wanted for Christmas.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

North sat beside the bed where Jack lay, only the movement of his chest as he breathed proving he still lived. His bandaged hand was limp around his staff, but it was still covered in a mix of ice and shadow. His wounds had begun healing at least but what of his mind? He hated having to have guards on the infirmary but until he woke, they couldn’t trust him, even when he did wake, if he remembered, how could they ever be one hundred percent sure if he was free of what Pitch had done to him? Were the changes to his body permanent?

Had they saved his life only to have to end it themselves one day? He liked Jack, he felt bad about him being on the Naughty List for so long and never investigating. He slowly reached out and brushed messy black hair back from the too still face, feeling the chill of his body though, perhaps, not as cold as it had been before. His powers had changed with his transformation but how much?

“Come back to us Jack,” he murmured, patting a limp hand before leaving the room.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

They had told Sandy what Pitch had done but seeing it for himself…Jack a broken and bloody mess…he wanted another go at Pitch with his whips! He could feel the Nightmare sand within Jack’s body, along with other nasty substances. Jamie had brought him back fully and had managed to reach Jack past what had been done to him. Pitch had corrupted many beings; none had ever come back from it, were they clinging to an impossible hope?

Sandy watched as Jack whimpered, twitching in his sleep…nightmares. What else would he have? Pitch would not have allowed him to have good dreams. Slowly, he let the tiniest trickly of dream sand sprinkle over his face and Jack grimaced, gasping. Blue eyes slowly fluttered open and Sandy smiled gently at him.

Jack stared at him with wide glassy eyes, trying to move away from him. Sandy held his hands up, slowly forming symbols. There was no recognition from Jack, the boys eyes darting around the room as he whined, trembling, trying to push himself up and away despite his wounds. Sandy let a small stream of golden sand approach Jack, twisting in pretty patterns and blue eyes locked on it, Jack cocking his head to the side, the fear gradually fading until he was watching curiously.

Sandy formed shapes and animals, letting them play, swirling ever closer until the sand brushed his hands and then upward. He whimpered, tensing, obviously expecting pain but Sandy was very careful, not sure if his sand would hurt him. Thankfully it didn’t seem to, and the fear faded, childlike curiosity taking over as Jack watched. He gently brushed the sand against a cold cheek and then higher, brushing over blue eyes and Jack blinked, yawn revealing sharp fangs, and then slowly Jack’s eyes drooped, stressed body succumbing to sleep again thanks to the sand. He slumped back against the pillows, body utterly relaxed, the sand forming incoherent shapes over his head…but not nightmares. Hopefully, that was a good sign.

Jack had been scared but had only tried to get away from him, unlike a Nightmare’s normal behaviour. They had been examining Jack carefully as his body healed, whatever technique Pitch had used on him, it was new, experimental? Perhaps not as complete as Pitch had believed? A Nightmare would not have shown such curiosity, would not have appeared so much like a child and that gave him hope.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth dozed in the chair beside the bed, it had been three weeks since they’d found Jack and there had been no change yet. He wasn’t getting worse at least, but he’d shown no signs of waking either since Sandy had woken him from a nightmare and then Jack hadn’t seemed to recognise him. They all worried about just who would wake up, Jack Frost, or Pitch’s Jack?

“T….oo…th…” it was raspy, barely audible but it was enough noise.

Her eyes snapped open and she looked around before looking at the bed, finding glassy blue eyes staring back. Blue eyes! “Jack,” she whispered, reaching out to brush black hair off his face.

He flinched slightly but then stilled, obviously struggling to remain conscious. “Wh….”

“Sshh, don’t try to talk. You were very badly hurt.”

Baby Tooth squeaked and chittered at him, landing on the pillow so he could see her, and both were relieved to see his lips twitch slightly in an attempt to smile. She pressed against his cheek, her version of a hug, but then his eyes drifted shut again.

“Stay with him,” she whispered, and Baby Tooth nodded, she didn’t need to be told! Tooth smiled and then left to tell the others. He’d known her! He’d tried to talk to her and had reacted very positively to Baby Tooth, it had to be a good sign, it had to be.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He slowly opened his eyes, blinking in the bright light, eyes hurting. Cautiously he tensed his muscles, he was in pain, but it was getting better. He turned his head, seeing a figure in the chair, unsure who it was, the light too bright. Everything was jumbled up in his head and he wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t. He was Jack….Tooth had been there before, so had Baby Tooth. There’d been a boy…Jamie…a fight… he groaned and lifted a hand to his head. Master…. No, Pitch… he moaned in pain.

“Frostbite?” a wary voice called, and he looked back at the chair. “Ya with me kid?”

“Head…”

“Here,” a glass was pressed to his lips, a furry hand behind his head to hold it up, and he managed to sip the ice cold water. “How’s the pain?”

“Ever’whe’r.”

“Well you did go flying through a window and off a cliff so not surprising.”

He had? When…why… trying to think hurt.

“Don’t try and force it, just get some more sleep,” the stranger told him, so he closed his eyes again.

“T’ bright…” he slurred before sleep claimed him.

,,,,,,,,

Aster grimaced at the last comment. Kid still looked like a mini-Pitch and the light hurting was not a good sign…but his eyes had been blue every time he’d woken. He’d called Tooth by name and tried to smile for Baby Tooth too. It was too soon to tell whether he would recover or not. Maybe once he healed from the physical trauma he’d start fighting the changes Pitch had made.

No one had told Jamie about Jack’s survival. There was no point in getting his hopes up. If Jack recovered then maybe the kid could be brought to see him, let Jamie see the Workshop as it should be and not in a fight.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sandy watched Jack sleep more peacefully than he had previously. He looked up as Tooth entered, a box in her hand.

“I found his,” she held it up, showing a picture with Jack’s face, but brown hair and eyes. “I’ve spent the last three days scrubbing the box and teeth, there was Nightmare sand all through it. Can you give it a look? If it’s clear then maybe the true memories will help him.”

Sandy nodded and took the box, using his dream sand to search for any sign of Pitch’s influence, happy to find none. He carefully spun his sand around the box and then Jack, wincing when he flinched and whined but eventually he settled.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He woke up alone which felt strange. He looked around, the room still too bright, but no one was there. Ever so carefully he sat up, looking down to find his hand wrapped around wood…his staff. He…he was Jack Frost…he was Jackson Overland…he was pet, Jack…he remembered all three. They were all jumbled up in his head and there were gaps too.

He got to his feet, leaning heavily on his staff, hobbling to the door. He got it open and froze, staring at the hulking form…yeti? It turned and stared at him and he couldn’t help shifting back slightly, eyes wide, and something about it seemed to…soften? It slowly reached out a massive hand and he whimpered, trembling, but the furry hand gently patted his shoulder before stroking his cheek. It said something but he didn’t understand, and it sighed before nodding. It pointed down the hall to the left and then motioned for him to go.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Phil watched Jack shuffle down the hall, leaning heavily on his Staff. It had hurt, to see him scared of him. They’d clashed many times over the centuries, but it had been a game, Jack trying to break in and him keeping the Spirit out.

He’d been shocked to hear the door opening but Jack had been hesitant, timid, but also…curious. So he had let him leave, directing him to where the other Guardians were. That had not been the Jack he knew but it also hadn’t been the one he’d seen at Pitch’s side that night, the one that had hissed at Jamie. This Jack was a wounded boy and he needed help Phil could not give.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack hesitated but then slowly made his way down the hall to find himself in a familiar area, the Globe in the centre, lights shining brightly. The Guardians were gathered, talking softly and even his hearing couldn’t make it out over the overwhelming noise of the Workshop. How did…Bunny manage? He stood on the threshold, half hidden in shadows, but the he heard a squeal of joy and Baby Tooth was there, hovering in front of him, unsure.

“Hey,” he greeted, voice raspy, and she moved in to press against his cheek.

He took a deep breath and slowly moved forward.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth flitted passed North and then spun, having caught sight of movement. Hobbling along, leaning heavily on his staff, was Jack with Baby Tooth gently encouraging him. “Jack!” she called, and he lifted his head to see her, revealing tired blue eyes, cat-like tail flicking behind him before curling around his leg.

Her call brought the attention of the other Guardians and they watched him carefully for any sign of violence. He stumbled and she darted past them, slipping under his free arm to help support him, feeling him start and then freeze. “You shouldn’t be out of bed yet,” she chided gently, and he groaned.

“Wanted…to move…” he panted.

He was grey, well greyer than what seemed to be normal now and North moved closer.

“Jack? May I?” North held his arms out and Jack chewed his lips, not seeming to notice when a fang broke the skin but then he nodded hesitantly and North carefully picked him up, not reacting when the boy tensed, carrying him to the couch. “Are you hungry?” he asked once Jack was reclining on the couch under a soft blanket and Jack thought about it before nodding. “Will have Yeti’s get you something.”

“No…meat..” Jack whispered, a hand clutching North’s pant leg and North nodded, moving off to tell a Yeti.

She glanced at the others, wondering why Jack had told North that, then again they probably didn’t want to know. Baby Tooth perched on his chest and he slowly lifted his hand to run a finger over her feathers, being very careful of his claws.

“How do you feel Sweet Tooth?” she asked, hovering by his side, wanting to reach out but unsure if he would be comfortable with touch. He turned his head to look at her, he looked so tired it hurt. Jack had so much energy, almost as much as she did, always flying around, perching on top of furniture. Huddled under a blanket he looked smaller too. He stopped stroking Baby Tooth and slowly extended his hand towards her. She smiled and took it, careful of sharp claws. His skin was cold and smooth but firm beneath her fingers.

“Tired,” he answered. “All jumbled.”

She slowly reached out her other hand to stroke through black hair and Jack sighed, pressing into her touch, shocking them all when he began purring softly. North reappeared with a tray and Bunny moved in to help Jack sit up more.

“Vegetable soup and fresh bread, good for recovery,” North announced, placing the tray down in Jack’s lap. When Jack’s hands shook too much, she picked up the mug of soup and helped him drink it.

“What did you mean by all jumbled Jackie?” Bunny asked when Jack couldn’t eat anymore.

“Hmmm?” Jack was slumped, eyes fluttering, and Tooth pressed a finger to her lips, glancing at Sandy who nodded and let some dream sand loose, easing Jack back to sleep.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Baby Tooth sat on the spare pillow, watching Jack sleep. She’d been so happy when he’d stumbled into the main room, even though he’d been so obviously exhausted. He’d known her both times she’d seen him awake and that had to be good! She’d seen the way everyone except her Mother had watched him carefully and it hurt. Jack would never hurt anyone. She watched as he began to shift, moving restlessly in his sleep, and she reached out to touch his cheek, calling softly to him, trying to comfort him.

Jack whimpered, head thrashing, breaths coming in panicked pants, and the door opened, the Yeti on guard looking in, concerned. He suddenly screamed, thrashing wildly, and the room filled. Blue eyes snapped open and he snarled, scrambling away, falling and crawling to the corner where he crouched, snarling and hissing.

She didn’t hesitate, taking off to fly between him and the wary Yeti, seeing Bunny and Sandy in the hall. He was just scared from a nightmare! She called out softly to him, watching his eyes dart around, not seeing the infirmary but something else. When Bunny moved forward she glared at him, arms crossed and he backed off again, good. She just kept talking to Jack, keeping in his line of sight, and ever so slowly his gaze began lingering on her, his breathing beginning to slow. Finally, his eyes focused, and he fell silent, blinking dazedly at her.

“Baby…Tooth?” he rasped, pressing tight into the corner and she nodded, moving slowly closer. His gaze wandered towards the Yeti, breathing beginning to speed up again and she called out louder, getting his attention off them.

Obviously realising they were making things worse, the Yeti thankfully left the room, leaving only Sandy who could maybe help.

Jack gradually relaxed, slumping in the corner and she flew up to him, pressing to his cheek, stroking cold skin, trying to comfort him. Ever so slowly he lifted his hand to gently stroke her feathers, being very careful of his claws. “S…ss...orry,” he stammered out, trembling. She hushed him, moving to where she could gently pet his hair. He slumped down further, whining softly, obviously distressed still.

Sandy carefully moved closer, reaching out to gently pet Jack’s hand and he stiffened, watching the Sandman with wide eyes. She watched Sandy carefully and he smiled at her even as he kept gently petting Jack’s hand, the younger Spirit slowly relaxing again. He began slowly forming images and Jack blinked, watching them curiously.

“I…I don’t…” Jack stuttered slightly but it was obvious he didn’t understand what the Sandman was saying, flinching back as if expecting to be struck or something.

Sandy took his hands and gently tugged, Jack tensing, before letting himself be pulled to his feet and led back to the bed, legs shaky. Sandy got him under the covers and she quickly landed on Jack’s pillow, gently petting his cheek. Gradually, Jack relaxed, and she smiled at the sound of a soft purr coming from his throat as his eyelids drooped. Was it normal for him to sleep so much? He’d been very badly hurt though so maybe it was.

It was obvious he was fighting to not fall asleep and a small stream of golden sand weaved around him, not touching, just offering. Jack jerked, watching it warily, glancing at Sandy and then her. She was quick to promise that she’d stay with him, that no one was going to hurt him. Golden sand meant happy dreams; did he remember? He hesitantly looked back at Sandy who smiled softly. Jack curled up, clearly torn, but then he nodded, and Sandy let the stream slowly move closer until the sand settled over his face. Jack yawned, whining softly, but his eyes fell shut, body going limp in sleep. She darted in to hug Sandy who patted her feathers.

_TBC…_


	3. ch3

_Disclaimer: Not mine_

**Chapter 3**

Jack snarled, tail lashing, crouching on the floor as if to pounce, and Aster froze, watching him closely. His eyes were still blue but was that any kind of indicator anymore?

“Easy mate, it’s just me,” he called, keeping calm. He knew better than to show fear, shoving it down. He backed away, pushing the elves back even as they stared at Jack with wide eyes. “With me Frostbite?”

Jack blinked slowly, tail slowing, and then he came out of the crouch, pressing back against the wall, breathing heavily.

“That’s it, you’re safe. No one’s gonna hurt ya,” he kept up the soothing talk and gradually Jack calmed.

“Bunny?” he blinked dazedly, and Aster nodded, relieved to hear him speak.

“Right here mate, what do ya say we get you back to bed?” he carefully approached, seeing Jack waver on his feet. He slowly took his arm, but Jack was obviously exhausted, letting himself be guided complacently. “There we go,” he murmured as he got Jack settled. “Get some sleep, I’ll stay.”

He watched as slowly Jack drifted off to sleep, keeping an eye out for any sign of further nightmares. Every time he woke like that, they all wondered if it was the end, if Jack Frost was lost. Thankfully, so far he’d come out of it, had recognised them, but what would they do if one day he didn’t?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aimee watched her son, he hadn’t been as affected as the other kids, but he seemed to be recovering more slowly. It was almost like…he was grieving? He was also spending a lot of time in his room, not drawing but writing. That story he’d posted online had been strange. The first parts of it had been good but the rest of it had worried her, it was dark. But posting it had seemed to help him feel a little better.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster glanced in at Jack, finding him asleep again. It was worrying how much he was sleeping since it meant he wasn’t eating much either. He needed food so he was just going to have to wake him. He didn’t want to startle him though, the kid was understandably jumpy, waking ready to fight. So far, no one had been harmed, Jack included, but it was worrying.

They were going to move him into a guestroom soon, his body was basically healed from his injuries so there was no reason to keep him in the infirmary. They would be moving him to an internal room though, one with no windows. Until they were positive that he was alright, they couldn’t risk him taking off.

He set the tray with soup and fresh bread down, moving to turn the light up a bit to try and wake him. “Hey Jackie, time to wake up. You need to eat mate.”

Baby Tooth watched him and then went to gently pet Jack’s hair, she was the only one who could touch him and never cause a negative reaction. Slowly, he began to stir, sleepy blue eyes fluttering open.

“Hey there,” Aster murmured, and Jack jerked slightly. “Easy mate, you’re safe,” he promised, staying still as Jack focused on him, recognition seeping in.

“Bunny?” he rubbed at his eyes.

“Time for breakfast Frostbite,” he motioned to the tray and Jack hesitated but then pushed himself up, leaning against the pillows. “Part of why you’re so tired is you’re not eatin’ enough. Ya body has used a lot of energy to heal and you need to restore that,” he chided gently.

Jack just stared down at the blankets, claws catching slightly in the material. “Not hungry,” he whispered. At least his voice was losing the rasp and he was managing mostly complete sentences now.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, and Jack shrugged listlessly, hugging his knees to his chest. “Fros…Jack,” he slowly reached out to lay a hand on top of Jack’s knee, feeling him tense but he didn’t hiss or pull away. “Please eat. Don’t let Pitch win. He’s dead, he can’t hurt ya ever again.”

He picked up the mug and held it under Jack’s nose, hoping the scent would help entice him to eat. Scent was a big part of his own life and he figured it was the same for Jack now, he’d seen him sniffing the air the few times he’d seen him awake. Thankfully, it worked, and he held the mug steady for him since the kid was still weak.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Pippa watched Jamie as they walked home. He was different since that weird time when everyone had nightmares and was scared. She didn’t remember a lot of her nightmares and she was glad. Jamie still believed in impossible things, he insisted he’d met Santa and the Easter Bunny! He’d posted up the story of Jack Frost which had such a horrible end... but he also seemed like he’d grown up a bit too. He was the only one not excited with the idea that it’d be snowing soon, though he’d made a Christmas list. Boys were weird though.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The move to the guestroom went fine, thankfully, Jack leaning on Aster for the walk, utterly passive, and he simply crawled into the bed once in the new room. They all felt bad about it having no windows which meant no natural light or fresh air but until they were sure of him they didn’t want to give him the chance to fly off through a window. It was obvious there were gaps in his memory, whether or not they were permanent they didn’t know. Jack was different, how could he not be? He knew it too, was obviously struggling to deal with what had happened to him but he was also withdrawing from them. Only Baby Tooth could stay with him, he was even more skittish and easily startled, a reversal from that first time he’d left the infirmary and welcomed touch and help.

,,,,,,,,,

He lay in the bed they’d moved him to, the room still as bright as the infirmary. The bright light hurt but he was used to the constant mild pain. He missed the Wind, not that it would probably answer him anymore. The door was still guarded, but it didn’t matter, he was a prisoner and would be even without a guard. He couldn’t be trusted and had to be locked up, so he didn’t hurt anyone. It’d be better for everyone if he’d died killing Pitch.

He picked up the familiar scent of tropical flowers and cool water which meant only one person, Tooth. For someone who was so busy, she came a lot, and he didn’t understand why. Or why he liked her scent so much. 

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“What do we do?” Tooth asked, wringing her hands in agitation.

They’d all thought Jack was doing okay but now…the nightmares were getting worse and he was shutting down. It was almost impossible to get him to eat and he hadn’t spoken in days. He just lay in his bed and stared at the wall; he was retreating from the world. She didn’t blame him, not after everything he’d been through, but it broke her heart to watch. Even Baby Tooth was struggling to get him to respond to her now, but she was the only one who could get more of a response than a mumbled request to go away.

“If he does not begin to eat regularly soon he will become ill,” North warned.

“Think this is something Pitch did to make sure Jack’d die without him?” Aster asked and they all shifted uncomfortably, knowing it was possible.

“There has to be something we can do. We can’t just watch him fade away after how hard he fought to survive,” she pushed.

Why had she never reached out to him before? Her girls would swoon over his teeth from a distance, had spoken of him to her, why hadn’t she made the effort to meet him? She could have taken a few hours here and there to see him, to let him know someone saw him, that he wasn’t alone. Instead, she’d allowed her duty to totally consume her. They were all guilty of that, but it didn’t make her feel any better.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jamie blinked open his eyes and stared before sitting up in bed. “Sandman!” he whispered, smiling. Sandy smiled at him and then slowly began forming symbols in his sand. Jamie frowned, watching closely. “You…want me to come with you?” he asked, and Sandy nodded. “Okay,” he got up as quietly as he could, rugging up when Sandy indicated cold weather. He trusted the Guardian; he was doing everything he could to help all of the kids get better but had helped his dreams. Sandy pulled out one of North’s snow globes and activated it, ushering Jamie through. He grinned when he realised where they were, but he was also sad. He hadn’t been to the Workshop since the battle and it seemed even more crazy, elves and yeti everywhere.

He followed Sandy down a hall to a door with a Yeti outside of it. Sandy flashed up quick images and the Yeti spoke with him before nodding and opening the door, waving Jamie forward. He hesitated but then went inside, looking around. It was a bedroom, brightly lit, though with no windows. He heard a noise from the bed and watched the blankets shift.

“Go ’way,” a voice mumbled, and Jamie froze, eyes wide.

“J…Jack?” he called in shock. They’d…they’d said Jack was dead, he fell…

The blankets shifted again and then he saw black hair and grey skin, the figure shifting to slowly sit up, blue eyes meeting brown. Blue eyes!

“Jack!” he sniffled, rushing over to the bed, scrambling up to hug the Spirit. He felt Jack stiffen, breathing loudly, but he held on and slowly Jack’s arms wrapped around him, holding him like he’d break. He buried his head in Jack’s loose shirt, sniffling. “They told me you were dead,” he whispered.

“Jamie,” Jack whispered hoarsely. “Sorry…sorry…”

“What for? You saved everyone!”

Jack shook his head, whining softly, his tail flicking. He still…looked like a Nightmare but he wasn’t acting like one, so Jamie refused to be scared of him. Jack had given him a good scare when he chased him, but he’d never hurt him. When they’d fallen, it had been Jack who hit the ground, Jamie held against his chest, to restrain him or…had he been protecting him before even remembering?

“You’re okay, right? You remember who you are, don’t you?”

Jack let go, shifting back on the bed, shrugging before hugging his knees to his chest.

“Jack? I’m not scared of you; I know you won’t hurt me.”

Jack glanced up at him, eyes wide and Jamie smiled at him. Jack’s tail flicked near him and he reached out to pet it, the fur was nice and soft. Jack gasped, staring at him in shock but then he slowly relaxed and Jamie giggled when Jack began to purr.

Very slowly, Jack began to talk in a hoarse voice, and Jamie listened.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sandy smiled as Jack began to talk to his first believer. He’d needed someone who wouldn’t judge him, and kids were good at that. He was obviously not giving details on what Pitch had done to him, understanding a child shouldn’t have to hear that, but he was talking.

Sandy didn’t want to think about what Pitch had done to Jack, he knew none of them did, but eventually, Jack would need to talk about it.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack sat on the bed, resting against the headboard, Baby Tooth at his side. Jamie had come to see him, had touched him and not been afraid. He could sense it; the others fear, but was it of him or…for him? Maybe he didn’t disgust them?

There were gaps in his memory, not just of his mortal life but the whole thing. He figured he was lucky to remember anything after just giving up the way he had. He’d let Pitch get to him, let the fear turn to anger, to despair, until letting go and forgetting had seemed like the best thing to do. How could he have done that?

How could they not be disgusted by him when he was disgusted with himself? He didn’t need a mirror to know he looked like a Nightmare, some twisted human-feline hybrid. Jack honestly didn’t understand how Jamie and Baby Tooth could touch him. Could he live with what he had become…did he want to? There’d been times in his centuries alone when he’d considered it, but it’d always seemed like the cowards way out and he’d enjoyed playing with the kids, even if they couldn’t see him.

He had believers now, even if Jamie was the only one he’d met. Finding out he’d put stories about him out on the internet, how he’d convinced his friends to believe in the Guardians, it was touching and scary at the same time. Would they want to see him? He…he didn’t think he could make the happy snow anymore. He couldn’t make them laugh anymore so why would they want him around? Maybe giving them snow days would be good enough? He didn’t know if he could cause Nightmare frost still and he didn’t want to know, he never wanted to do that again!

He glanced over at Baby Tooth and she smiled at him, asking if he was okay. He didn’t know how he was able to understand her, but he was very thankful he could. He held his hand out and she hopped on, letting him bring her to his chest, hugging her close, and slowly he began to purr for her, making her smile and laugh.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

North smiled to himself when Jack slipped into his personal workroom, clutching his staff, tail lashing, agitated. It was obvious Jack was wary, unsure of his welcome, but he had found the courage to leave his room. The yeti still guarded the door, but it was not meant to keep him inside, rather to have someone on hand should he need help.

He kept working and Jack hesitated before moving to curl up on the windowsill. It seemed Sandy had done the right thing in bringing Jamie to see him. This was the first time he’d left his room since being moved to it and he had even sought him out, maybe not to speak but at least wanting company.

It was still jarring to see grey skin and black hair, not to mention the tail though it could be used to gage Jack’s mood. For now it was loosely wrapped around him, showing he was relatively relaxed, his head resting on the glass. Perhaps he should not let him do that, but he saw no harm in it, while Jack could likely smash the glass to escape, North did not believe he would try. Doing so would require using his powers, something he had not done at all, other than dropping the temperature when upset. North had never met Jack before he had been chosen as a Guardian, but he had heard stories of him, especially from Bunny. He had changed much from the cheeky Spirit he had been.

“He….twisted everything,” Jack whispered, voice husky from so long in silence, and North slowed his work but didn’t stop, sensing Jack wanted to be able to pretend he couldn’t hear him. “He had my box and…I tried to leave but her voice…”

“Not your fault,” he had to speak up, to take that guilt from him. “Tooth explained to us, because you had no memory it was impossible for you to ignore. Even in battle, you would have responded.”

“Oh,” Jack whispered, and North was glad to hear some of the guilt and self-loathing leave his tone.

Jack huddled in on himself, hiding in the hood of the new jumper the Yeti had made for him to replace his old one. They had even made him new trousers in the same style as the old ones, having left colour and material samples in his room. When Jack had made the choice it had made everyone happy, Pitch’s Jack wouldn’t have made a choice. He’d chosen the softest materials offered and North wondered how sensitive his skin now was, he could see that being something Pitch wanted considering how they suspected he’d used the younger Spirit. There was no black in the outfit, but it was darker than before, though still covered in frost patterns thankfully, only his staff still showed the physical signs of his changed powers.

North nudged the plate of cookies to the other side of the table in offering and the ghost of a smile flitted across dark grey lips, Jack slowly taking one to nibble. He’d begun showing some interest in food since Jamie’s visit too for which they were all thankful, he was far too skinny, though he would still not go near meat.

“They loved me…they did…I can’t stop seeing….” he shook his head, growling low but North did not react to the sound, knowing it was not aimed at him.

“Nightmare sand had filled your tooth box, Tooth and Sandy have fixed it. Pitch was very good at warping things.”

“I…I didn’t want to remember…didn’t want to exist…” there was a slight whine to his voice, a cut off whimper and he huddled deeper in his jumper.

North closed his eyes in grief. How badly had his memories been distorted to make him feel that way. He heard a muffled sob and could not keep his distance anymore. He put his tools down and walked over, not muffling the sound of his steps so not to startle Jack, not wanting him to lash out instinctively. He reached out and drew Jack into his arms, feeling him stiffen, but he did not let go and the boy very slowly relaxed, a hand clutching at his shirt as frozen tears soaked through his clothes, Jack whimpering and whining softly. He moved to an overstuffed armchair and sat, holding Jack as he cried. It was a good step in him recovering.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Baby Tooth held onto Jack’s finger, gently tugging at him, urging him to walk down the hall. He’d left his room once to see North but that had been a few weeks ago. He needed to move around more, she could feel his muscles trembling already and that wasn’t good. He was eating more so hopefully he’d start gaining some weight, but he still needed to be active. He was Jack Frost; he wasn’t meant to be so still.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth flew into the Workshop and landed, going to the area where they tended to congregate when there. She froze, eyes wide, as she spotted a head of black hair over the back of the couch. She felt horrible because she hadn’t been by in a few weeks and no one had contacted her to say something had changed… she saw the tiniest of shifts and realised he knew she was there somehow.

Tooth took a deep breath and walked over, finding Jack curled into the corner of the couch, Baby Tooth sitting on the table in front of him, drinking a tiny cup of tea, a mug of hot chocolate next to her and a plate that held cookies missing bites from a human size mouth and a fairy one. Jack didn’t look up, but it was very obvious he knew she was there, had he…smelt her? Cats had better noses than humans and she knew Aster would have been able to pick up her scent so it made sense that Jack would have similar or better senses now. 

“Hello Jack,” she greeted softly, moving to where he could see her, smiling at him. He looked…better?

He looked up and to her joy, his lips twitched in a tiny smile. “Hi,” he whispered.

“Oh Sweet Tooth,” she reached out to him, utterly relieved to hear him speak, that he was reacting to her presence.

He looked at her hands, hesitating, but she didn’t pull back, waiting for him to make the next move. He’d either pull away or come to her but it would be his choice. He lifted his hand, hesitating, searching her face but she just smile gently, even as she realised he was definitely taking in her scent. She wasn’t afraid of him, he hadn’t been violent, except when startled awake, especially from a nightmare. He was wide awake here and there was no one crowding him. Her smile widened as his fingers brushed hers very lightly.

“Come here Jack,” she whispered as she knelt down in front of the couch he was on, and he sat up slowly, leaning forward. She wrapped her arms around him, one hand rubbing his back, the other running through his hair. She felt him slowly relax against her and then he was rubbing his cheek against her shoulder. She smiled as she heard the sound of him purring, his arms around her waist to avoid her wings. “We’re all here for you Jack,” she promised, feeling cold tears soak through her feathers.

“N…North said it…it wasn’t my fault,” he whispered, clinging to her now.

“Jack, he had your Tooth box, your memories. You couldn’t have ignored that call, no matter what was happening. Nothing that happened is your fault.” She turned her head to press a soft kiss to the side of his head, feeling him relax further. “No one blames you; I promise.” She kept gently stroking his hair, feeling him press his nose to where shoulder and neck met, breathing in deeply. It didn’t bother her, if he found comfort in their scents then he could sniff her all he needed. Eventually, he started purring softly.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“The Guardians are real!” Monty grinned while Pippa stared in shock as Jamie was lifted into the air. It…it was a rabbit….

“Easter Bunny?” she asked, and he grinned.

“Bunny!” Sophie squealed and he scooped her up, the toddler babbling happy at the massive rabbit who laughed and actually talked to her. He could talk!

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster ran into the bedroom, hearing Jack scream in terror. He was thrashing in bed, tears falling from closed eyes, Baby Tooth hovering nearby, calling out to him, trying to wake him. The temperature in the room was plummeting, and he swore as he saw the very few shadows in the room shifting. He hit the switch to increase the light even further and then he bounded to the bed and took a breath, he had to wake Jack, even if it meant startling him. “Jack! Wake up!” he reached for his shoulder, shaking him and blue eyes snapped open, Jack snarling, fangs bared, lunging and Aster threw himself backwards…..too slow!

He felt the sharp, stinging pain in his side as Jack lunged after him. He twisted around and up, managing to go over the lunging Jack. He landed and reached out, wrapping his arms around Jack to trap his arms to his chest even as he hissed and yowled, thrashing wildly.

“Jack it’s okay, you’re safe. Calm down Frostbite, I’m not going to hurt you,” he spoke softly in Jack’s ear, holding him as he continued to fight. He moved backwards to fall back onto the bed, curling his body around Jack’s, nuzzling the back of his neck. Jack wasn’t conscious, that much was obvious, he was reacting instinctively, so Aster needed to calm those instincts down before they had Nightmares breaching the protections.

“Bunny?” North called from the doorway.

“I’ve got him, turn the lights down a little.” Maybe not the safest thing to do but he needed Jack to calm down before he hurt himself and he could feel his skin burning too. Kid was strong now that he was eating and moving around again, and it was hard to hold him but if he lost his grip who knew what Jack would do.

The lights dimmed and Jack hissed towards the door. Aster felt his tail slamming into his leg as he fought to get free. Then Tooth was in front of them, cupping Jack’s face in her hands, Baby Tooth hovering over them. “Shh Jack, it’s okay,” she whispered. “Come back Sweet Tooth. You’re safe, no one is going to hurt you.”

He yowled, trying to thrash in Aster’s grip but he refused to let go, no matter how heartbreaking the sound was. “Come on Jackie, wake up,” Aster urged, nuzzling again. It was odd to do, it had been so long since he’d been around other more animalistic Spirits, even if he wasn’t fully like them either, what with being an alien after all. They did share some instincts though and he was trying to sooth Jack’s, to let him know he was safe and cared for. Jack was a Guardian…he had become a friend and was on the way to being family.

Finally, he felt Jack beginning to slow in his struggles, mewling and whimpering as Tooth continued to speak softly to him, Baby Tooth moving closer now she wasn’t at risk of being knocked from the air. Aster could feel blood in his fur, but it wasn’t gushing or anything so it could wait.

Jack eventually went limp, panting for air. Tooth gently cupped his face in her hands and Aster carefully loosened his hold, but he remained still.

“Jack? Can you hear me?” Tooth asked gently and he shuddered, whining softly. “Shh, it’s okay, you’re okay.” She moved one hand to run through messy hair, trying to sooth him.

Aster carefully let go and moved back, not wanting to crowd him or make him feel trapped now that he was calm. He winced and pressed against his side, seeing the red on his fur. Best not to let the kid see that, the last thing they needed was for him to retreat again out of fear of hurting them.

Jack was obviously exhausted, and they soon had him resettled in bed, using some of the sand Sandy had stockpiled for Jack’s use when he wasn’t there to help.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack hesitated just outside of the bright light that was pouring in through the window. He bit his lip, nervous, but then he took a cautious step forward, tensing in anticipation of pain. The lights in his room didn’t really bother him anymore but they were artificial. Nightmares belonged in the dark, the night time. They said Pitch could tolerate sunlight to a point and he wanted to do that too. He didn’t want to be what Pitch had made him.

He stepped into the light, squinting, his eyes struggling to adjust. It hurt but it didn’t burn. He blinked and blinked, seeing the snowy slopes outside. He cautiously moved closer, pressing a hand to the cold glass, unaware of the soft meowing sound he was making. He didn’t tense at all when a delicate hand came to rest on his shoulder, having smelt her presence.

“It’s okay Jack,” she whispered, and he shifted slightly, leaning against her. “You’ll be able to go out soon.”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“Jack!” Jamie called and Jack down up from where he’d been watching the snow outside.

He dropped down from the ledge, easily landing, and then Jamie was wrapped around him, hugging him, and he carefully hugged back.

“Look! I lost another tooth,” Jamie stuck his tongue through the hole and Jack nodded, smiling at him.

“Put it under your pillow?” he asked, and Jamie nodded, leaning against him as Jack walked to the couch.

“Yep, Tooth gave me a coin when she picked me up. Sophie’s with Bunny, he took her to the Warren, hopefully she won’t bring all the eggs home.”

It was nice to just sit and listen to Jamie chatter. He’d never once detected any fear from Jamie when he visited, not even the one time Jack had been startled and growled. Jamie never asked anything of him, never expected anything, just like Baby Tooth. They settled on the couch and Jamie happily told him all about how school was going.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack stared down at his staff, obviously nervous, but Sandy stood calmly across the room from him. It had been almost ten months since Pitch’s death and Jack had been understandably avoiding using his magic. It reacted to his nightmares, there’d been a few blizzards in the first months, but it was the reaction of the shadows that needed to be investigated. They needed to know what Jack could do now and help him regain control.

When Jack looked up, Sandy grinned at him and nodded, urging him to try something. He was already sure Jack could sense fear, either via scent or magic which made sense if he was meant to be a more intelligent breed of Nightmare. Which meant Jack could cause nightmares himself, thankfully not something he had done even instinctively since Pitch’s death with all the yeti, elves and anyone else who stayed at the Workshop.

Jack shifted his grip on his staff and closed his eyes, the temperature dropping. The wind rushed in through the open window and then Jack was hovering above the floor. Sandy clapped, flashing thumbs up and Jack smiled in relief, the Wind still answered him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth landed on the balcony and walked over to sit beside Jack who was watching the snow fall. He shifted slightly, pressing into her side and she smiled, petting his hair, hearing him purr was always something to look forward to. He was healing a little more every time she saw him. She was glad to find him outside for the first time since they’d found him half dead in the snow.

It felt wrong for him to always be indoors when he had been such a free spirit, going wherever the wind took him. It had taken over six months for him to be able to handle enough light to be near the windows, and she knew it had taken that long for Aster to feel comfortable with letting him near them anyway. As much as it had hurt, they’d needed someone to remain suspicious of him, to remain rational, because if Jack had been truly corrupted by Pitch then he could have done a lot of damage if they had all trusted him from the start.

“How’re you doing Jack?” She asked as he rubbed his cheek against her shoulder.

“Okay,” he answered, and she bit back a sigh, he was always okay when asked.

He had refused all efforts to get him to leave the Pole and they all knew why. He was scared to face the world and he knew if something happened, the Yeti could help restrain him. Her fairies would be all but helpless as would Aster’s googies, though he did have his Sentinels. They all knew his biggest fear was that he would hurt a child.

How long would it take for him to accept that they all trusted him and his control? Sandy had worked with him on learning his powers, Aster had worked on what little combat training Jack would accept and now she would make him work with her. He had to get past it or he would never be able to fully heal.

She took his hand and stood, tugging him to his feet. “Come on,” she smiled and began to hover.

He shook his head, clutching his staff. “I can’t…” he’d hovered inside during training but now he had to trust himself to fly again and it was evident that he didn’t.

“Yes you can Jack. You can’t stay grounded forever,” she soothed. “I’ll be right at your side; I won’t let anything happen to you.” They could stay low, she’d caught him after he had frozen Pitch’s sand, she could support him back down if needed. He stared up at her, torn, but then slowly the Wind picked up, his feet leaving the balcony. She smiled and kept a grip on his hand, coaxing him into flying with her.

They stayed, just hovering over the balcony for a while and then ever so slowly she got him moving.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“Happy Easter Jackie,” Aster greeted him, and Jack blinked at him, looking down at the offered basket in confusion. “Go on, it’s for you,” he promised, and the kid slowly took the basket. He’d shown no intolerances, other than his refusal to eat meat, so he felt safe enough giving him chocolate for Easter, mixed in with the painted eggs.

Aster watched him curiously explore the basket and its contents, feeling bad. When was the last time Jack had an Easter? He’d always chased him off when he’d spotted him, especially after ’68. So unless he was hunting for any missed eggs after kids left, he probably hadn’t had anything since he was human.

It was hard to believe it had been a year since Pitch had begun his attack on them, since he had taken Jack and almost destroyed the younger Spirit. He hadn’t seen him in a while, too busy preparing for a bigger than normal Easter to make up for last years but Jack seemed to have improved during that time. He was sitting in the full sunlight and his skin wasn’t burning! That was a massive relief and progress.

“How have you been Snowflake?” he asked. It felt wrong to call him Frostbite now, to remind him of the darker side of winter after what had been done to him.

Jack looked up at him and he was shocked when Jack actually smiled shyly at him. He hadn’t really seen him smile since they had been in the Warren last year. “Tooth took me flying,” he admitted softly.

“How’d that feel?”

“Good,” he whispered, picking up an egg and gently tracing the painting with a claw. “The wind still comes, still likes me.”

“What’s not to like?” he asked, and Jack looked up, startled. Did he think? Aster reached out, gently wrapping an arm around his shoulders, feeling him tense but then he sagged, slumping into his side. “I’m sorry Jack,” apologising was hard, but he had to say it. “It was not you mate, I wanted you to be okay. Pitch…he killed my people, wiped them out, he killed a lot of people, but it was the ones he didn’t kill that were worse. No one has ever come back from that. It’s never mattered what he turned them into or how, the person they were was gone for good, leaving nothing but a monster. Some could fake it, they still had memories of who they’d been, and then they’d kill everyone in what should have been a safe location. So even when you woke up and seemed to still know us…I couldn’t let myself believe.”

“But…now you do?” Jack asked shakily.

“Yeah. You’re different but you’re still Jack Frost. You aren’t what Pitch made you, you’re free. That we’re sitting in the sun proves it. ” He felt Jack shaking against him and then felt freezing cold liquid soak into his fur…he was crying.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

North smiled as the party continued on. It was just the Guardians, yeti, elves, and some of Tooth’s fairies but it was still more people in one place than Jack had been exposed to since his recovery. Jack was a little jumpy, but Baby Tooth was firmly attached to his hood, occasionally petting his hair or neck, chattering away to help keep him calm. There was a feast of food and everyone had agreed that there would be no meat for his comfort, no one wanting to set off a flashback or worse.

Sandy was downing eggnog like always, Tooth was buzzing around, although ducking to Jack’s side very regularly. It was sweet to see how close they had become, it was good for both of them, whether anything more came of it or not.

“Time for presents!” he called out a few hours later, seeing Jack reaching his limits. The crowds dispersed until only the Guardians were left. He rested a hand on Jack’s shoulder, making sure he knew the touch was coming, smiling when Jack didn’t tense, actually pressing back into his hand. He knew his boisterous nature and large size had made it hard for Jack at times to relax around him and it was always nice when Jack could. He gently guided Jack over to the couch, running his fingers through wild white hair before going over to the massive tree where the presents waited.

He thought the pile of gifts much too small, but Aster had been adamant that they keep things small for Jack’s sake. Three hundred years of isolation would mean he was unused to such things. Last Christmas he’d still been very jumpy, only just beginning to spend more time out of his room, starting to tolerate sunlight, and he would only stay around one, maybe two, of them at a time.

“For Bunny,” he handed off the first gift, knowing better than to give one to Jack first and make him uncomfortable with being the centre of attention.

When he gave Jack the gift from Bunny they all watched as he sniffed at it, pulling at the paper. Inside was a warm, soft jumper in a dark silvery blue. But there was something else too and Jack pulled out…a cat toy? He sniffed at it and North had to press a hand to his mouth, he hadn’t…had he? He glanced at Aster who was watching Jack closely.

Jack lifted the toy to his nose, sniffing it, breathing deeply. He began purring, rubbing the toy against his face, body slumping back, utterly relaxed.

“What is it?” Tooth whispered, glaring at a shocked Bunny.

“Catnip,” he admitted. “I didn’t think he’d react that strongly!”

North understood, Jack still looked very human and his digestive abilities were still human too. While his senses were enhanced that did not mean he’d react to scents like a feline. “Did you get him high?”

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster was a bit shocked by the strength of Jack’s reaction, it had just been a bit of a joke! He got up and went to check on him, Jack pawing at him lethargically. “Easy Snowflake, come on, let me see your eyes,” he encouraged, and Jack grumbled but lazily blinked. His eyes were a little hazy, pupils dilated just a smidgen, but nothing dramatic. His body was totally relaxed, and he was purring softly. “Not high, just very relaxed,” he assured the others.

Which was actually good to know. He’d see to growing some catnip in the Warren, it was non-addictive, he’d done the research, so it’d be safe to use to help Snowflake out when he couldn’t relax but didn’t want to sleep like sand would make him. He gently ruffled black hair and Jack gave a loopy grin, nuzzling his hand before stretching and laying down, head beside Tooth’s leg so she began petting his hair.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Baby Tooth shrieked in delight, pouring on the speed as she spun and raced around, Jack right behind her. They never strayed far from the Workshop, but they had fun racing through the air above and around it now. Jack was getting better at having fun again, at letting go. Fun was part of him, the more he could have the more he’d get better.

_TBC…_

_Sadly, my cats don’t care for catnip at all, they walk away from it. So I decided Jack would react just for a bit of fun. Saw a cat get really loopy off the stuff so he did too._


	4. ch4

_Disclaimer: not mine_

**Chapter 4**

Tooth smiled as she heard Jack really laugh for the first time since he’d been taken, blue eyes much brighter as he watched the elves make a mess. It had taken two years, but he seemed as healed as he may ever get. Yes, he still had nightmares, still had times he woke and didn’t know where he was, reacting on instinct to protect himself. No one had been hurt since that one time Aster’d been too slow to dodge. Thankfully, Jack didn’t know about those scars, the fur hid them well, because Jack was his own harshest judge, if he knew he’d hurt one of them…

He would never be the happy trickster again, but he definitely wasn’t a Nightmare either. He could sense fear, it called to him, but instead of trying to make it worse he would try to lighten it. He couldn’t make the snow that made people happy and want to have fun anymore, but he could still create beautiful frost patterns. He was still very much an animal in the way he moved and reacted, but he was also still human at heart.

Baby tooth stayed with him permanently and Tooth had allowed it without a second thought. He needed someone who would never flinch from him, who hadn’t seen him at his worst, but still accepted how he had changed. Jamie was good with that too; the boy being brought to visit whenever they could sneak him away, sometimes with his sister along with him. Both children would cuddle with Jack, petting his tail, just listening or drawing him out of his head to colour or read with them.

Finding out Jamie had posted their story of Jack Frost for people to read had been a surprise. The timing was right though, he had begun showing signs of waking within days of the story going up. As children began thinking of him, believing in the Spirit who had sacrificed himself for them, that belief had begun helping him to heal. Jamie had added more stories from what Jack would talk to him about, even drawings of Jack’s old and new appearance curtesy of Bunny. Apparently the girls loved the idea of a cat-Jack. She had to admit, the fur on his tail was very soft and his purring very soothing. He was very tactile, and she didn’t think that was all down to the feline side, he’d been alone for three hundred years, that he now had people who wanted him around, could see and touch him, had to play a part as well.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack gripped his staff tightly, not sure what to think about the offer Bunny…Aster had made. Finding out their names had been interesting and that they had trusted him to know them felt good. He hadn’t told anyone about his human memories but maybe he should? And he was trying not to think about the offer. He felt safe in the Workshop, even in the air around it, the idea of leaving kind of terrified him. He wouldn’t be alone, and Pitch was dead, what did he have to be afraid of?

“It’s okay Jack, just think about it. Alright?”

Jack nodded shakily, relaxing when a furred hand stroked his hair and then the subject was dropped.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster leant against a tree, watching Jack and their surroundings as the boy slowly moved towards the frozen lake. It was the first time Jack had left the Pole since his transformation and he was obviously wary, crouched on all fours as he made his way onto the ice. He’d been shocked when the kid left his staff with him, but it was a great show of trust. He had honestly thought it’d take him longer to take him up on the offer to bring him back to his lake, Jack was terrified of leaving the Pole and while they all understood they all knew he had to get past that fear. This was a good first step. He’d take him to the Warren as long as he wasn’t too shaken by being at the lake. He knew Tooth was looking forward to him visiting her at the Tooth Palace as well.

Jack reached the middle and sat down, running his fingers over the ice, swirling patterns spreading under his touch even without his staff. They both started when Jack was bathed in moonlight, the younger Spirit flinching, curling in on himself as if expecting to be struck. He quickly moved out onto the ice and knelt, tugging Jack into him even as he pressed the staff into Jack’s hand, staring up at Manny, hoping he wouldn’t hurt the boy. He wasn’t evil, he didn’t want to hurt anyone. Jack slowly relaxed, staring up at the moon with wide eyes, tears falling silently. The light faded to normal and Jack twisted in his arms, hugging him tightly, tears soaking his fur.

“He…he doesn’t hate me,” Jack whispered, and Aster hugged him tight, relieved.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

North smiled as he watched Jack with Phil, the Yeti carefully working with him on carving something. He knew the yeti, especially Phil, felt bad about how they had kept Jack out for all those years. Why had none of them ever considered the boy was just lonely and needed friends? They could have given him a home, a safe place to rest in summer. Would he have at least met with Jack if they had told him the Spirit kept trying to sneak in?

The trip back to his lake, having Manny show his acceptance, had done Jack a lot of good. Hearing him laugh for the first time all those months ago had been an utter relief. A Jack Frost who did not laugh just did not feel right.

The next step was planned, Jack would be meeting Jamie’s friends. Jamie had told them the stories, and they had let the children see them at various times, hoping that when Jack came they would be able to see him and would accept him. Apparently the girls had cried for him, that was a good thing, right? Girls cried.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack cautiously stepped onto the grass, looking around. The memories of that Easter were the hardest to recall, Tooth said because they were tied up with the trauma. Still, he’d remembered how warm and green the Warren was. Part of him was worried about hurting something but no frost formed under his bare feet. Aster smirked at him, waving him on, and Jack took a deep breath, following him. He froze as the googies descended on him, watching with wide eyes as they ran about his feet, hearing Aster chuckle at the sight. Eventually they moved off and he sat near the lack, Aster thrusting a paintbrush into his hand. He could do this, it was like decorating with frost, just using paint instead.

“Jackson Overland,” he whispered after a while of painting, not looking up as he felt Aster focus on him. “I…I saved her, my sister….the ice was too thin and…”

“Easy Snowflake,” Aster moved to stroke his back and Jack felt himself relax, slumping back towards him.

Sometimes in his head it felt strange how he’d react to touch or scent, but his body didn’t care about that. It had been made to react in certain ways and he couldn’t stop it. Most of him didn’t want to stop it, loving the attention and affection from all of them. He turned his head, rubbing his cheek against Aster’s shoulder.

“I drowned,” he forced the words out, feeling Aster stiffen.

“Oh Jack,” arms wrapped around him tightly. “That’s why you didn’t remember.”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Finding out Jack had died was a shock, but it explained his amnesia. It also made him madder at Manny, why hadn’t he told them about Jack from the start? They would have taken him in, taught and protected him. It made him feel even worse about how he’d treated the kid since meeting back in the thirties. He’d been wary of him and then ’68 had happened and he had done his best to keep well away from the winter Spirit. That Jack trusted him, let him near, was amazing. How was he going to tell the others? He could tell Jack didn’t want to do it himself.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

North spun as he heard Jack yelp, eyes widening as he fell into a shadow and vanished. “Jack!” he looked around, quickly sending the yeti to search the Workshop with him, hoping he wouldn’t have gone very far. Thankfully, they found him in a storeroom, barely conscious from the drain on his magic. It seemed they hadn’t found out everything he could do yet.

Jack was terrified of the new ability, not wanting anything to do with it. It wasn’t surprising, Jack hated anything that would link him to Pitch. Getting him to train, to learn to travel through the shadows was not easy, but a swift method of travel would be good and safer than only being able to fly with the wind.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Baby Tooth sat on Jack’s shoulder, her Mother watching nearby as Jack fidgeted with his staff. He was very nervous, but she just knew it would be okay. Soon Bunny appeared with Sophie clinging to him, Jamie grinning at his side and his friends around them. Jack stiffened and she pressed against his cold skin, offering support.

“Jack!” Jamie called, running towards them and she took to the air, seeing Jack smile at the boy, catching him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster watched as the kids stared at Jack, able to see him thankfully, Jamie at his side, chatting his ear off. He didn’t need to be able to catch the kids scent to know Jack was scared, it was obvious in the way he was standing and clinging to his staff, tail twitching.

Cupcake stepped closer and Jack stiffened. “Can I pet your tail?” she asked and Aster bit back a laugh at the stunned look on Jack’s face. He glanced at Tooth and then Aster, then at Jamie who was laughing.

“I…um…”

“Please?” she batted her eyelashes and he shifted but his tail moved forward. She smiled and very carefully reached out to pet his fur. Soon the kids were moving closer, Pippa and Sophie joining cupcake in awe over the soft fur, the boys asking him about his staff and flying. It took time, but very gradually Jack began to relax.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth smiled at her visitor, pouring the tea as Jack settled on a cushion, a bit winded from the distance between the Pole and her home. He was still working on distance when it came to moving between the shadows, but he got better every trip.

She looked forward to his visits, even when he was silent. He still had times when interaction was difficult, but it was just part of who he was now. There was nothing wrong about sitting quietly together. She missed him when he wasn’t there, and she couldn’t get away to visit the Pole. It was silly, he couldn’t live at her Palace, he had his own duties and the place was too warm for him to stay in all of the time. Then again, his ability to travel through shadows helped with the distance issue. She’d begun installing more pools and fountains, raising the humidity for him.

She’d been fascinated with Jack from that first meeting…and not just for his teeth. He wasn’t ready for anything like that and she did everything she could to not let her scent give away her feelings towards him. He may never be ready or able to have a relationship after what he’d been through and she would never try to push him. They were friends and that was enough.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack landed on the rooftop, looking out at the city. He gripped his staff and tipped his head back, letting the Wind ruffle his hair. It was time to get to work! He grinned and took off into the air, spinning and dipping between buildings, frost forming in his wake. It was the first winter without one of the others at his side and while he was nervous it was also freeing. They trusted him! He just had to remember to trust himself too.

Baby Tooth laughed, flying with him, resting in his hood when she got tired. She had been his constant companion since he woke in the infirmary and he didn’t know where he’d be without her steadfast faith in him.

He had a family now, something he had never dared to dream of before. He did wonder sometimes if they would have become so close if Pitch hadn’t changed him. If he’d still been the old Jack, would they have gotten fed up with him? Would Tooth like him more if he was the old Jack still? He thought she’d liked him back then, been attracted to more than just his teeth, maybe. And she was always willing to touch him, to let him curl against her. He…he liked her but what was the point? No one would ever want a Nightmare.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack crouched on top of his staff, watching the kids play in the snow with a grin. He missed being able to help them have fun, to cheer them up, but there was nothing he could do about it. His memory was still full of holes but that was just how he was now, as long as he knew who he really was then it didn’t matter.

“Jack!” Jamie yelled and he grinned at the now twelve-year-old even as the other kids saw him and ran over. He dropped off his staff and onto the snow. “Wanna have a snowball fight with us?”

“Please!” the other kids called so he nodded, running his staff along the ground, forming ammo and soon the snowballs were flying, and Jack laughed as Cupcake hit him in the face with a great snowball, knocking him off his feet, the kids laughing.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He stared at the hole in the ground, the bed frame long gone, but the entrance was still there. Jack hadn’t told anyone where he was going because he knew they’d insist on coming too. He’d never told them what Pitch had done to him, but he knew they at least suspected. He didn’t want their pity though. He had to do this, he had to face it. He took a deep breath, Baby Tooth chirping soothingly in his ear. He dropped into the hole, sliding down the tunnel to come out in a big, empty chamber. The maze of walkways was gone, so was the Globe, the shadows no longer menacing. Without Pitch the lair was slowly falling apart.

He walked deeper, finding the dilapidated remains of Pitch’s room, breathing speeding up as he stared at the decaying bed. He could remember everything Pitch had done to him, the one part of his memory he wished was faulty. He remembered loving every touch, teasing him to get him to take him to bed, and now it made him feel sick.

Baby Tooth called to him soothingly, drawing him out of the memories. He lifted his staff and slammed it down, sending ice flying around the room, destroying the bed and freezing everything. Panting, he turned his back and left.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth smiled as Jack lay against her side, purring loudly as he licked at a frozen treat of sweetened water and catnip that North had come up with for him. He was halfway through it and it showed in his behaviour and reactions, the catnip well and truly in his system, wrecking his coordination while making him extremely relaxed. He soon finished the treat, wriggling around on his back, batting at the air lethargically. She reached out to pet his hair and his eyes fluttered open, looking up at her, blue eyes unfocused. He turned his head and licked her wrist, his tongue slightly rougher than she thought a humans would be.

Watching his reaction to the substance was always amusing, but she hated the days when he felt that he needed it. The days when he was too on edge to relax, when he was jumping at shadows, ready to fight, or had barely slept because of nightmares were the ones when he’d find whoever was the least busy before using the catnip Aster now grew for him.

He stopped wriggling or moving, body going utterly limp, eyes barely open, purring becoming deeper but quieter. This state was why he used the catnip and why they insisted he not do so alone. In this state he was completely vulnerable, unable to speak or move, and it would last for up to an hour.

“It’s okay Jack, I’m here,” she whispered, continuing to pet his hair, knowing he’d be aware of her presence. She directed her fairies from where she sat, absently petting Jack as she worked. It was why Jack usually stayed with her when he did this, because she could work and sit with him, unlike the others, unless he rested on Sandy’s cloud.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack grinned as the kids ran down the hill to play in the snow, the sky had cleared but there was enough snow to cause a snow day. He frowned when he noticed Pippa wasn’t with them. Sophie ran right into him, hugging him tight. It was hard to believe she was now the same age Jamie had been when they had fought Pitch. The other kids were….fourteen now?

North had sat him down to talk the other day, to make sure he understood that they were getting old to still believe, he hadn’t remembered that. He remembered being unseen but hadn’t remembered why. The thought of soon losing them all, even if he did have other believers now, it scared him. Was that why Pippa wasn’t with them? Had she decided she was too old to believe in them anymore?

Jamie grinned at him, reaching down to scoop up some snow, and Jack laughed. For now he had them and he would be their friend for as long as they believed in him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

“Keep up Bunny!” Jack called, laughing, as he flew by.

Aster smirked and picked up speed. “Ya don’t wanna race a rabbit mate!” he called like he had that night when they’d collected teeth together. It had been seven years since Pitch’s defeat and for fun they had decided to once again make collecting teeth for the night a race, at least this time they’d brought coins to leave the ankle biters.

Tooth was flittering around, enjoying the time together and being in the field. She was better about getting out and collecting herself, delegating to her fairies. She’d had to in the early days to be there for Jack. They had all gotten better with their time management and stress thanks to Jack. To be there for him, they’d had to work things out. Now, he would spend time helping them all with their duties, though they’d all made sure to tell him that he didn’t owe them anything.

Jack spent the most time with Tooth and they were all wondering what would happen there but none of them would say anything. They didn’t want to scare Jack off and make Tooth mad.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sandy smiled and waved as he saw Jack, patting his cloud and the younger Spirit landed, sitting down. He didn’t mind giving him a lift, but he sensed that this time he wanted to talk. He continued sending out dreams, he had no problem waiting.

“North…he mentioned changing the tile so that it looks like I do now. I…how can I be a Guardian?”

Sandy reached over and rested a hand over Jack’s. Manny believed in him, the kids did, and so did they. His belief base continued to grow, and not once had he ever harmed a child or even done something to scare one, accidentally or not. That explanation had Jack blushing and looking away. He was glad that Jack had learnt how to understand his signs to communicate. He tugged his hand, getting him to look back at him and Sandy smiled at Jack. they had always assumed that when Jack was ready, he would take the Oath, to make things official, otherwise his tile would have been removed once they knew he had survived.

“Oh,” he whispered in shock.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth smiled at Jack as he curled up on the cushion, absently kneading at it which was good to see since it meant he was feeling relaxed.

“Tooth?” he asked after a while and she quickly handed off control duties to one of her girls.

“Yes Jack?” she moved to sit beside him.

“North and Sandy they said I’m a Guardian.”

She stared at him in confusion. “Don’t you remember that night?” she asked gently.

“But it didn’t happen, I said no and then we had to leave…for here?”

She nodded. “Oath or not Jack, you’re one of us. You were always meant to be,” she promised, stroking his hair. “There’s no pressure on making it official, only when you feel ready.”

“But…what if I never…” he asked hesitantly, worry clear in his eyes.

“Then you never take the Oath, it won’t change anything.”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack sat on a log, staring at his lake. He was torn. Part of him was terrified of taking the Guardian Oath and the other part desperately wanted it. He’d known now for two years and he still couldn’t bring himself to say yes. He heard snow crunch under shoes nearby but didn’t bother looking, the tread too heavy for a kid.

“What’s wrong?” a familiar voice called, and Jack glanced around but there was no one else there. “Jack?” Jamie called his name and he looked over at him. He’d grown again since his last visit, his hair still flopping around his head.

“Jamie…”

The teen rolled his eyes and moved to sit beside him, gently knocking shoulders. “You haven’t come by in ages, I missed you. You missed my eighteenth birthday, so you better be ready for a snowball fight to make up for it.”

“You…you still,” he looked away, hands curling into fists.

A warm arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him into a hug, Jamie now the larger of them. “How could I ever not believe in you Jack?” he hugged Jack for a minute before letting go.

Jack felt ashamed for assuming Jamie would grow past belief in them and then yelped as a snowball was shoved down his shirt. “Hey!”

Jamie grinned and scooped up more snow. Jack stared at him before slowly smiling and grabbing his own snowball. They played for a while before collapsing on a bare patch of ground. “So what had you so melancholy?”

“Being a Guardian,” he answered, and Jamie sat up, frowning in confusion.

“What? But you’ve been one for ten years now, why would it be an issue?”

He shook his head. “I never took the Oath before Pitch, never got the chance to. They put a tile in for me when they thought I was dead. North said I died a Guardian, so they thought it was right. They never took it out but I… North mentioned changing the tile so it look more like me two years ago, he changed it a few months later. They all said they’re just waiting for me to be ready to make it official.”

“None of us knew it wasn’t. You’re a Guardian, Jack, it’s just part of who you are. Even under his control you didn’t hurt me, you held me when we fell, and you hit the ground first. You protect people Jack. You aren’t a monster and you never have been,” Jamie told him firmly.

Had he really tried to protect Jamie even then? He didn’t remember what he’d been thinking or much of what had happened that day.

“Here,” Jamie pulled some paper from his pocket and scribbled on it. “I’m only home for Christmas, I started college this year. I’m in Colorado so there’s no excuse for you not to visit.”

Jack looked down at the information and smiled. “Okay.” He hadn’t lost his first believer, he would one day, humans weren’t immortal, but for now he had his friend for longer.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

North held the book, smiling as the elves played the music, the Yeti standing by without the flaming torches this time. That had not been the best of ideas perhaps considering Jack’s powers. They were doing it the right way this time, no sacks, portals, or arguments.

Jack stepped into the room with Phil at his side. Wide blue eyes took everything in, his tail flicking in excitement and nerves. He walked lightly on the balls of his feet; head held high. The greyish skin and black hair had lost its ability to make North do a double take years ago, it was all just a part of Jack now.

Jack stopped, standing over the Guardian symbol on the floor and North nodded, chuckling when the fairies swooned, and Jack flushed slightly.

“Are you ready now, Jack? To make it official,” he asked gently, and Jack nodded. “Then is time you take Oath: Will you, Jack Frost, vow to watch over the children of the world? To guard them with your life - their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams, for they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be,” North closed the book, seeing Jack take in a nervous breath, looking at them all before the boy nodded.

“I will.”

“Then, congratulations, Jack Frost - for you are now, and forevermore, a Guardian!” the Workshop erupted in cheers and he picked Jack up, grinning at him. “Klassno!” He kissed each of Jack's cheeks, then set him back down, Jack not flinching at all.

“That's my boy!” Aster called, grinning and laughing, such a different reaction to the first time they had tried the ceremony.

The eggnog was quickly flowing as they celebrated Jack’s taking the oath and a decade since Pitch was defeated.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Baby Tooth clapped as Jamie walked across the stage, Jack grinning and cheering. Graduation was a big important event and she was happy to cheer him on. She’d never heard of someone his age still believing but it wasn’t like it was hurting anyone. It made Jack happy too.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth smiled as Jack appeared out of a nearby shadow, Baby Tooth happily riding in his hood. She’d never imagined she would be happy to see someone form from the shadows, but they’d all gotten used to his method of long distance travel over the years. She quickly handed off to some of her fairies and flew down to greet them. They were soon seated on cushions with cups of warm tea in hand, Baby Tooth off to see her siblings. She was glad that Jack was still a frequent visitor, no matter what they did, she enjoyed her time with him. . She was glad the heat and brightness didn’t bother him anymore and not just because of the added water sources. As his belief base continued to grow, he grew stronger and all the stories stated he loved sunny days, that belief likely helping some.

It was good to see that Jack was finally truly settled, happy with himself again. He had become a mix of the three people he had been at different times of his existence and that was how it should be. Manny’s acceptance had been a big step in his recovery and acceptance of himself and it had been that last confirmation for everyone, proof that Jack hadn’t been corrupted to his core by Pitch. They had believed that Jack was good at heart, but she knew that having Manny confirm it had helped Jack.

When the tea was gone Jack curled up on the pillow, laying his head in her lap and she stroked his hair, loving the way he purred, nuzzling her thigh. Sometimes…she thought maybe he felt more…but would he ever feel safe with that? After the way Pitch had used him…it had taken a lot of strength and courage for him to tell them about just what Pitch had done to him. He’d only managed to do it six months after taking his Oath and he’d ended up decimating the catnip crop afterwards.

She laughed when he began kneading her leg, careful of his claws. He cracked open an eye, looking up at her as he continued to purr, nuzzling and kneading, something in his gaze… “Jack?” she whispered, and he turned his head to nuzzle her stomach. “Oh…” she gasped, and he tensed slightly. She let her fingers drift down from his hair to stroke his cheek and he turned his head, pressing into her touch. “Jack?” he slowly sat up and leant in. Her wings fluttered nervously but she moved to meet him, their lips touching gently.

He pulled back, watching her and she smiled at him. “So you like more than my teeth?” he asked cheekily though she could tell he was nervous, and she laughed. He leant in again and she met him, lifting a hand to rest on the back of his neck, feeling his hand hovering over her waist so she took it and pulled it to settle there. She trusted him to not scratch her, he knew how to be careful of his claws.

Thankfully he’d never shown a cats hunting instinct towards her or Bunny, still human enough to ignore them if he had them. Kissing someone with fangs would take some adjustment, but Jack was definitely worth the learning curve that they’d both have with how different their bodies were to each other.

“I…” he swallowed, cheeks flushing a darker grey as he hesitated. “Love you,” he whispered, and she smiled, kissing him again.

“I love you too Sweet Tooth,” she told him, and he grinned.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack kissed her gently, not entirely sure what he was doing. She loved him! He didn’t know why but to have his feelings returned was more than he ever could have hoped for. He’d never kissed someone before, he’d seen people kiss, had been quick to leave when they began doing more, but it felt really nice. He was careful of where he touched her, not wanting to hurt her with his claws. He’d spent the last year working in secret with Aster, learning to care for and delicately paint the googies, wanting to be sure he could be as gentle as possible. Aster had smirked but kept his secret.

Physically, they were very different, but he was willing to learn. He liked kissing so he would be fine with only kissing forever if that was all she ever wanted to try. He’d been scared that he’d ruin everything, had been unable to just say it, instead trying to show her with the nuzzling and kneading, he was just glad she’d understood.

They separated for air and he grinned at her again even as she gently stroked his hair. He curled back up on the cushions with his head in her lap, utterly content.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

She laughed as they dipped and spun around each other, flying through the air alone. While his ability to travel through shadows was useful, she was very happy he could still fly with the Wind. It meant they could fly together. He could fly for longer since the Wind carried him, he could also fly faster for the same reason, but in some areas she had more manoeuvrability.

Seeing the wide grin, hearing him laugh, made it all so much better. He caught her around the waist, spinning around, and she kissed him before racing off, knowing he was right behind her.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Baby Tooth watched them fly, she was so happy!! She’d been trying to push them together for years, but Jack had refused to speak with her Mother about his feelings for her, so sure she wouldn’t care for him like that. It had been so frustrating!

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

North watched as Tooth curled into Jack’s side on the couch, both sipping their drinks, and fought the urge to laugh in joy. Finally! He could understand Tooth’s reluctance, not wanting to push Jack, and it was obvious why Jack had remained silent so long, even though they had all spent years assuring him that his differences didn’t matter.

He glanced at Aster who grinned and nodded. Sandy too looked very happy to see them so comfortable together. It was very good, they deserved to be happy.

,,,,,,,,,,

Jamie grinned at him and Jack rolled his eyes.

“Go on gloat, you were right,” he grumbled, and Jamie laughed, reaching out to ruffle his hair like Jack used to do to him.

“I’m happy for you Jack. You deserve to be happy and it’s obvious Tooth makes you happy. Just don’t share the details with the poor single guy,” he teased.

“Thanks.”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack hesitated in the doorway, looking around, and Tooth turned back to him. His eyes were too wide, tail twitching, and she felt sick at causing that kind of reaction, he was scared! And why wouldn’t he be? His only experience with another’s bedroom had been in Pitch’s hands.

“Jack, Sweet Tooth,” she called gently, moving back to his side and he looked away, obviously ashamed. “Shh,” she cupped his cheek in a hand. “Nothing is going to happen unless you want it to,” she promised, stroking soft, cool, skin. He gradually lent into her touch, but he wasn’t purring. He slowly met her eyes, trembling slightly. “I would never try to make you do something you don’t want to,” she whispered, and he shuddered, leaning closer.

“S…ss…orry,” he stuttered, and she winced, it had been so long since he’d done that.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” she told him firmly.

After a year together, she’d thought it would be nice to spend the night together in her bed, just to sleep, she hadn’t been expecting anything more. She’d thought Jack was ready for that kind of step, he’d become a lot more confident in touching her without seeking permission first, kissing her in greeting but obviously she’d been wrong.

Jack looked at her bed and then back to her before leaning in, rubbing his cheek against hers, nuzzling at her throat. “Just sleep?” he asked less shaky now and she nodded.

“Jack, it’s okay,” but he cut her off with a brief kiss.

He slipped his hand into hers and then took a step towards the bed, which was really more of a large nest swimming in cushions and blankets. It was probably very different to whatever Pitch had used so hopefully that would help. She let him lead, take as much time as he needed, and eventually they were curled up in the bed together.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered, stroking his hair as he relaxed enough to fall asleep in her arms.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack perched on a familiar fence, watching the children in the yard. He had fun trying to work out which kids belonged to which member of the old Burgess gang. Their parents were all late twenties by now, none of them believed anymore, except Jamie. Jamie who had no kids in the yard, no spouse. He’d ended up becoming a writer of children’s fiction and wildlife journals. Jamie spent most of his time out in the wilderness, studying animals and having snowball fights with him. Sometimes he wondered if that belief was why he’d never married and that made him feel guilty but then Jamie would grin at him and he’d let it be, Jamie was happy and that was what mattered.

“Excuse me, are you Jack Frost?” one of the kids called and he looked down to find them all watching him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jamie glanced out the window and grinned at the sight of Jack being pulled into the kids games. His Guardians of Childhood series was a best seller and he’d made sure all the kids knew Jack’s story, the child friendly version anyway.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth woke to find Jack tossing and turning beside her, breathing in gasps, and she reached out to gently touch his cheek. “Jack? It’s alright, it’s just a dream,” she called softly. It wasn’t the first time she’d had to wake him from a nightmare, and she doubted they’d ever fully stop, not when he literally had Nightmare sand running in his veins. They were far less frequent now days though and very rarely left him disorientated upon waking. She understood that he didn’t want to use dream sand all the time because in an emergency it could make waking up harder, but she kept a supply on hand for if he did need it.

Blue eyes snapped open and then he was off the bed, pressed into the corner as he panted. His gaze darted around, and she stood from the bed, approaching slowly. She hated seeing him like this and she was pretty sure she knew what had set it off. Jack had attended one of North’s infamous parties for the first time and she’d been able to hear the whispers, had seen Aster snarling at some Spirits. There’d been comments on Jack’s sanity and lack thereof and also about his being the new Nightmare King, none of it true but enough to bring back old fears for Jack.

He blinked and shook his head, eyes clearing. “Tooth?”

“I’m here, it’s alright.”

She saw his eyes widen, looking her over for any sign of injury as he realised what had happened.

“You didn’t hurt me,” she promised, holding her hand out. “Come back to bed Jack.”

“I hate this!” he rubbed his hands harshly through his hair and she moved in to gently grab his wrists.

“Nothing happened Jack,” she told him, she hated it when he was so harsh on himself. He’d come so far from those early days. She gently pulled and he let her lead him back to the bed where she stayed up, soothing him back to sleep.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack landed in the graveyard and walked towards the newest grave, the permanent stone not yet in place, the fresh soil piled high. He felt Tooth land nearby, but she hung back as he reached out to brush his fingers over the name carved into wood; Jamie Bennett. Barely thirty years old and he was dead. It hadn’t even been his work that had killed him, he’d been back in Burgess to visit his Mom and an idiot drunk driver had hit his car, killing him on impact.

“I’m so sorry Jack,” Tooth whispered, moving to join him, slipping an arm around his waist.

“I…I want to see where it happened,” he finally said, and they took off for the highway. They landed and Jack saw the flowers at the place the accident had happened. He tensed as he saw movement in the trees. “Hello?” he called and then he froze as a familiar figure stepped nervously from the trees. “Jamie?” He looked younger, early twenties at the most and his eyes…were the same shade of blue as his own.

“I…”

Jack heard Tooth gasp, but she stayed back, not wanting to crowd the new Spirit. Jack had lost his memories because he’d died, would Jamie have done the same? “Jamie, do you know me?” he asked, handing his staff back to Tooth, holding his hands up, seeing Jamie shift nervously, his eyes wide. His heart sank, Jamie had forgotten them.

“I…” Jamie stared at him in confusion but then he took a step forward. “Jack?” he asked hesitantly.

Jack nodded. “It’s me Jamie, it’s okay.” He held his hand out and Jamie moved forward and then Jamie was in his arms, shaking. “I’ve got you; you’re going to be okay.”

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tooth watched as Jack held the confused Jamie, smiling softly at how he was able to calm the new Spirit. She glanced up at the Moon with a glare, was he planning to tell them? Or leave Jamie to find his own way like Jack had? What would have happened if Jack hadn’t wanted to see the accident sight. She was just glad that Jamie had recognised Jack, that would make helping him adjust easier.

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jamie laughed as Jack landed in the colour river, coming up spluttering and hissing. He didn’t remember much from before he was a Spirit and it didn’t bother him, but he was glad what he did remember was Jack. He’d been so scared when he’d woken up one night, all alone in the trees, the moon shining down on him, telling him his name was Jamie Acqua. He was a water Spirit which made dumping Jack in the river easy. He was nowhere near as powerful as the Guardians, but he didn’t care and neither did they.

He was Jack’s best friend and their powers worked very well together, it made playing pranks even easier. He mostly lived in the Warren and he worked a lot in Spring and Summer, but he was welcome in all of their homes. Tooth had given him his tooth box and he had gotten his childhood memories back, but he had never gone home. It would hurt to see his Mom and Sister but for them not to see him. That was his old life, he was a Spirit now and he was happy.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Aster chuckled as he watched Tooth chase Jack through the air, the two obviously playing. She had definitely learnt to tolerate the cold better, but he had no desire to go outside in that. He glanced over as the couch dipped, Jamie flopping down beside him with a mug of hot chocolate.

His death had been a shock, his becoming a Spirit an even better one, until Jack admitted Jamie had never stopped believing. Had Manny done it for Jack? The kid had been killed in a car accident so there had been no heroic action like when Jack had died. Maybe whatever had made him the Last Light had meant he had the right stuff to become a Spirit. He may not be a Guardian in name or power, but they all considered him one of them, part of their family.

“Wishing you could join them?” the younger Spirit teased and Aster shuddered.

“Not on your Nelly. You?”

“It’d be neat, but I like swimming too.”

“And you like the Sleigh!” North added as he walked over. “Ready to help this Christmas?”

“Yeah,” Jamie grinned in excitement.

Just like the occasional tooth collection race, North had taken to inviting them all on the Christmas Sleigh ride. Aster participated less than the others, but he still forced himself to go some years. He’d gotten used to them coming to the Warren to help at Easter too. He still liked his solitude, but he also couldn’t imagine going back to how they’d been before Jack was named as their newest member.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Jack stood before the window, the full moon shining down on him, the Workshop utterly full to capacity. Baby Tooth flew in with several of her sisters and then Tooth appeared and he forgot how to breath. Jamie had to nudge him into taking a breath as Toothiana approached him. If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up. He would never understand why she had chosen to stay by his side, but he would be forever grateful she had. He took her hands and under the light from Manny they said their vows to each other. After fifty years together they didn’t really need vows to know how the other felt but it also felt nice for it to be official.

That night they went to bed together in the Tooth Palace and for the first time they did so with more than sleep or gentle kissing in mind. Jack knew he’d still have bad days, that other Spirits still wouldn’t accept him because of what Pitch had done, but as long as he had the Guardians and his best friend at his side, as long as she loved him, then he could handle it.

_The End_


End file.
